Ace King set to rule again

If there's a prize for consistency, ACE KING will, for sure, be one of the recipients.

Just look at what he has done so far - in his trials and races.

The Theo Kieser-trained promising three-year-old has a win and two seconds in his trials, ditto the races.

Such a record underlines the traits of a good and genuine racehorse, so today in Race 3, Ace King looks set to reign again in a rather weak Class 4 Div 2 event over 1,400m.

The New Zealand-bred gelding has all the ticks in the right places. He has been burning up the training track, he has a handy 55.5kg and he is drawn well in gate 3.

One who possesses bright early pace, jockey Glen Boss can slot him into a nice spot and go for the kill in the straight.

Boss is no stranger to the horse, having ridden the bay gelding to his last-start half-length second over the same 1,400m trip. Mind you, the winner Supernova clocked a swift 1min 21.94sec.

Before that, Ace King also finished second to Southern Dragon over the same journey with apprentice MM Firdaus aboard.

In his debut, he showed promise with a fast-run victory over 1,200m by beating Sir Isaac, who came out to score in his next outing.

Looking through the list of his rivals, I would say only bad luck can deny Ace King of his second victory today.

Except for last-start winner Constance's Spirit, there is no other horse with a nice form figure beside their names.

Although winning form is good form, I think Constance's Spirit will find it hard to topple Ace King. After all, his winning time was just moderate, 1:23.61.

For second, I throw in topweight Sand Bank, a two-time winner over the 1,400m distance.

The Steven Burridge-trained five-year-old may have finished a nine-length 11th (at three-figure odds) last time out but do remember the winner Absolute Miracle, who is flying at the moment, clocked 1:21.89.

That was in an Open Benchmark 67 race and this is an easier Class 4. A run previous in an even higher Open Benchmark 74 race, Sand Bank was beaten by just a neck by the up-and-coming Skywalk, who clocked 1:10.30 for the 1,200m trip.

So, it is worthwhile forecasting Sand Bank with Ace King, and throw in Constance's Spirit in the tierce.