Al Green lines up for quick double

After a heart-thumping Sunday, which saw Lim's Lightning blitz his rivals to lift the Singapore Gold Cup, this Saturday's action might seem lukewarm by comparison.

But, as horseracing goes, all that is needed to get the adrenaline pumping is a good showing by a couple of horses.

On that count, two last-start winners and a newcomer to Kranji could provide the action.

They were the standouts on the training track yesterday morning and should attract attention in their respective races.

The Stephen Gray-trained Al Green looked sharp when running 600m in 36sec, while stablemate Billy Elliot had Marc Lerner doing the steering when disposing of the same distance in 40.7sec.

As for the newbie, he was Legacy Excel. He had Saifudin Ismail in the saddle when running the same sprint in a nice and easy 38.1sec.

First off, let's look at a last-start winner.

Gray's Al Green is a dogged campaigner who doesn't realise - or refuses to acknowledge the fact that he's already an eight-year-old.

Last time, on Oct 30, he beat a talent five years his junior to record his sixth career win.

Not only that. The three-year-old Qaidoom made it tough for Al Green by never giving an inch in the closing stages of that sharp sprint over the flying 1,000m.

The old boy eventually took the prize by a nostril.

While horses tend to build on their stamina as they age, Al Green seems as flighty even as he gets older.

In the five months working towards that last win, Al Green has put together a victory, two seconds and two thirds.

The win, his fifth, was in July and it was a 1,100m contest.

He meets pretty decent opposition in the Class 4 Division 1 sprint over the Poly 1,100m on Saturday.

But, he's as tough as they come and, when push comes to shove, he will be the one muscling his way through the fray.

One of those who will inject interest into the race is the newcomer Legacy Excel.

With a current rating of 60 points, Legacy Excel is a handsome four-year-old grey.

Trainer Alwin Tan has been meticulous in getting his charge ready for his Kranji debut.

Sent to the trials three times in the last six weeks, he appears to be well schooled and looks set for his Saturday soiree.

As for Billy Elliot, he is in good order.

Last time, he narrowly beat his rivals over 1,400m.

The margin was slightly more than a neck and it was a Class 5 contest.

Promoted to Class 4, one would think he would have his work cut out for him. But Billy Elliot is a tough campaigner and he just might defy that upgrade. He came away from that win unscathed.

That we know as he won a trial just last week by 11/2 lengths, clocking 60.47sec for the Poly 1,000m.

Owned by the King George Stable, he has been sparingly raced. Indeed, that win on Oct 2 was just his fifth outing and his second success.

He won't be out of his depth in Class 4.