The Shane Baertschiger yard saddles two three-year-olds who will probably start at odds as long as their trainer’s legs in the $500,000 Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) on Sunday, but the team saw no reason why they should not give them a run.
On paper, I’ve Got A Feeling and Mr Exchequer may look out of their depth against heavyweights like Countofmontecristo, Jupiter Gold and Could Be Pearls, and other usual suspects like Skywalk, Deimos and Sir Isaac, but assistant-trainer Scott Bailey was able to make a bit of a case for both.
A bold move no doubt, but in racing, fortune favours the brave at times.“You don’t win races if you sit in the box,” said the former Adelaide jockey.
“Both of them are well. You turn three only once and we thought why not run them.”
Such hackneyed clichés may sound a tad naive, but Bailey said I’ve Got A Feeling, who did run in the first Leg, the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m), finishing last to Countofmontecristo, was long tagged as a Guineas horse while Mr Exchequer, who only came into the picture late, ticks a few boxes, too.
“We’ve had plans on the 3YO series for I’ve Got A Feeling since he was two,” said Bailey.
“Being an Encosta De Lago out of a Singapore Gold Cup winning mare, Zirna (2003), he needs more distance. When the jockey got off at his last start, he said he was crying for more ground.
“The first Leg was too short for him. The mile will be much better.
“He is working well and has drawn well in barrier No 2. He won two of his three races from start to finish, but he doesn’t have the same dash anymore.
“Besides, Countofmontecristo is in gate No 1 and I think he will fly, he will rail through, and so we will probably take a sit off him.
“As for Mr Exchequer, he’s won his last two, and he’s in really good form. Blinkers go on for the first time. John (Powell) thinks he needs them.
“He’s really improved from his last prep. He loves the mile as he won his last two starts over that distance, and being a Savabeel, he is also looking for more ground.
“He is drawn wide in 10, but I think he will have a lot of time in the backstraight to find a posie. I can’t fault his form, and I hope he runs a good race.
“I can’t fault either horse actually. They both look a million dollars and I hope they run well.”
When Baertschiger saddles two runners in Group races where apprentice jockeys cannot claim, he usually uses his No 1 and No 2 senior jockeys, Powell and Matthew Kellady. With the Guineas being a weight-for-age event, and both jockeys having had their fair share of rides and wins on both, a decision had to be made, and Powell will ride Mr Exchequer while Kellady gets on I’ve Got A Feeling.
At his sixth season at Kranji, Baertschiger has yet to etch his name on the Singapore Guineas roll of honour, but his father Don, to whom he was assistant, did train a Guineas winner in 2003 with the Auric Stable-owned Tres Sheik (Craig Carmody), but at the time, the mile race was not part of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge.
– Singapore Turf Club
