Major King up to the task
Jason Ong’s rising sprinter taking on better opposition but enjoys a nice weight relief
On paper, it looks a tough ask – up in class and competing against stronger opposition.
But Major King is no slouch. He is a horse on the rise, as evidenced by his upward trajectory, especially his last win on Sept 9.
Carrying the 58.5kg top impost in that Class 3 race over the Poly 1,200m, the Jason Ong-trained five-year-old won with aplomb.
After racing handily, the New Zealand-bred gelding moved up and, for a moment, it looked like the grey Gold Ten Sixty-One was going to be the winner.
But, once champion jockey Manoel Nunes got to work, Major King lifted. He simply glided away to score. That was his fifth success from 10 starts, underlining his consistency and quality.
While the rise to Class 2 on Saturday seems to be a hurdle, the massive 6.5kg drop in weight to 52kg will be a big advantage.
Nunes could not make the weight to ride the gelding and capable lightweight jockey Wong Chin Chuen gets the call-up.
“I think the light weight will definitely help him,” said Ong, the season’s leader who has a runner in each of the 11 races on Saturday.
Ong reckons Illustrious is the horse to beat. His trial win in 59.59sec for the Poly 1,000m on Sept 28 was “very smart”.
The other horse standing in Major King’s way is the Richard Lim-trained General Command, who will be ridden by Nunes.
Besides Major King, Ong has several other winning chances.
In Race 2, the $20,000 Open Maiden event over the Poly 1,000m, his two newcomers, Nature Chief and Wins Eight, may even finish 1-2.
Both trialled superbly, but three-year-old Wins Eight is very speedy and gets in lightly with only 52kg. The year older Nature Chief is handicapped at 57.5kg.
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