The Bullet all fired up

When you have a name like Bullet, you had better be speedy or risk being laughed at by your four-legged mates in the yard.

No problem there with The Bullet the racehorse.

Prepared by leading trainer Tim Fitzsimmons, the three-year-old opened the trials at Kranji yesterday morning in wake-up fashion.

Ridden by Jake Bayliss and jumping from Gate 3, the chestnut Australian-bred certainly lived up to his lofty name.

He was out of the gates like a flash from a gun and, as the field settled, it became obvious that he was going to lead his rivals on a merry chase.

That he surely did.

The Bullet opened a lead at the 600m mark and led them into the final stretch.

The others, led by Dream Alliance and Hwasong, did their best to cut into his lead but The Bullet was having none of it.

Never letting up, he went on to win by half a length – easing up. Dream Alliance, who proved a handful when being loaded, finished second.

But it was all about The Bullet.

What a difference a break of three months can do.

A winner on debut in February, The Bullet last raced in April and he did everything wrong.

Ridden by Manoel Nunes and fancied in many quarters, he never threw a punch.

Nunes reported that his mount was “immature” and that, when placed under pressure, he failed to run on.

The club’s vets ordered that he be tested over the 1,000m. He sat for the test yesterday morning and passed admirably.

That said, Fitzsimmons must have done something right with the nice-looking chestnut. There was nothing “immature” about the way The Bullet won his trial.

Watch him shoot for a win at his next start.

Later in the third trial, we saw Crystal Warrior put in a speedy show to claim the chocolates.

Ridden by Louis-Philippe Beuzelin and jumping from the third chute, the four-year-old was neatly into his stride.

Hitting the 600m marker, he had Water Rocket (Krisna Thangamani) and Proof Perfect (Ronnie Stewart) eating his dust.

Heading for home, Beuzelin had Crystal Warrior on a good hold. Knowing that he had a good horse beneath him, the Frenchman allowed the son of I Am Invincible to cruise to the line under his own steam.

Crystal Warrior eventually beat the fast-finishing Senor Don by a length. Proof Perfect held on for third.

Crystal Warrior broke the minute mark, clocking 59.54sec for the 1,000m trip.

Trained by Jason Lim for Crystal Dragon No. 2 Stable, Crystal Warrior has been an honest-to-goodness runner for his connections.

He is not going to get his name in lights any time soon, but he could be working towards it.

Right now, Crystal Warrior has two wins, the last one coming in early March when he led all the way over the 1,200m.

Promoted to Class 3, he never could summon enough for another win. But he is not done yet. With natural progression, there could be more wins in store.

Same, too, with Nowyousee. 

He took the final trial of the morning in exciting fashion, charging home from no-man’s land to pip early leader Lonhro Gold by a nostril.

Winner of the 2020 New Year Cup, Nowyousee has not done much a recent times.

But there is still some racing left in those seven-year-old legs and, like he did at the trials, he can still raise a gallop.

Yesterday’s Kranji barrier trial results:

TRIAL 1
1 The Bullet (J. Bayliss) 2 Dream Alliance (V. Duric) 
3 Hwasong (R. Stewart) 4 Melody Fair (B. Pinheiro) 
5 Larry 6 Simon (B. Shinn) 
7 Battle Win (N. Zyrul)
Margins and time: 1/2, 43/4, nk, 1/2, 81/4, 11/4 
(1min 01.14sec)

TRIAL 2
1 Ejaz (K. A’Isisuhairi) 2 Luxury Brand (Bayliss)
3 Fadaboy (Shinn) 4 Shihab (M. Ibrahim)
5 The Jun (Stewart) 6 Prioritize (Duric)
7 Chipmunks (L. Beuzelin)
8 Crown Dancing 
Margins and time: 3/4, hd, 21/2, hd, 1/2, 31/4, 31/4 
( 1:00.78)

TRIAL 3
1 Crystal Warrior (Beuzelin) 2 Senor Don (Pinheiro)
3 Proof Perfect (Stewart) 4 Water Rocket (T. Krisna)
5 Moongate (Shinn) 6 Chicago Star
7 Sun Marshal (K. Faiz) 8 Watch Out Boss (D. Beasley)
9 Saturno Spring (R. Fahmi)
Margins and time: 1, 1/2, 13/4, hd, 41/4, 1/2, 81/4, 53/4 (59.54)

TRIAL 4
1 Nowyousee (M. Lerner) 2 Lonhro Gold (Pinheiro)
3 First Choice 4 Opunake (T.H. Koh)
5 Mesmerizing (Stewart) 6 Lim’s Knight (Beasley)
Margins and time: Ns, 1/2, 1, 71/2, 123/4
(1:00.80)

TRIAL 5
1 Thomas De Lago (Pinheiro) 2 Fort Mustang (M. Zaki)
3 Idlewild 4 Sir Elton (Bayliss)
5 Gold Zest (Stewart) 6 Lim’s Zoom (Beasley) 
7 Magnificent Gold 
Margins and time: 11/4, 13/4, 1/2, hd, 1/2, 1/2, 43/4 
(1:01.82)