The Bullet leads Fitzsimmons' charge

With just 14 race meetings to go before we wrap up the 2022 season, it is “Game On” in the fight for training honours at Kranji.

Realistically, there are four contenders: Donna Logan, Tim Fitzsimmons, Michael Clements and Ricardo Le Grange.

But the focus this weekend will be on the battle between Logan and Fitzsimmons.

With her “quartet” of winners last Sunday, Singapore’s only woman trainer has leap-frogged the Australian to hold the lead by a solitary winner.

But all that could easily change after this Sunday’s 11 races.

Logan and Fitzsimmons have entered teams of seven and eight respectively and, on paper at least, Fitzsimmons does look to hold the whip hand on the New Zealander.

His entries for the day include a trio of in-form runners and all drew attention at trackwork yesterday morning.

In racecard order, they were Wan Legacy, The Bullet and In All His Glory.

Wan Legacy, down to contest Race 2 which is an Open Maiden contest over the mile, worked in great heart, running the 600m in 40.7sec. Vlad Duric was the man with the riding duties.

The Bullet, a runner in the fourth race, breezed over the same distance in 40.3 while In All His Glory ran out the trip in 40.5sec.

Fitzsimmons would have been pleased with their showings.

Although he has yet to win a race at Kranji, Wan Legacy does seem to have a huge future.

His last-start effort, when second to Montana Flash over the 1,400m, was full of merit.

Ridden by Wong Chin Chuen, he was doing his best work over the concluding stages but found the finish line coming up too soon.

Still, it was his best showing in five starts and, coupled with his fine workout on the training track, he does look like he is on the improve.

The 1,600m on Sunday should be ideal and a win will make it all square between Logan and Fitzsimmons.

The Bullet already knows what it is like to win a race. He won on debut in February when showing his rivals a clean pair of heels in a sprint over the 1,000m.

But just two months later, when backed down to short odds, punters were left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong.

The Bullet just did not find his mark. His rider, Manoel Nunes, noted that his mount showed “immaturity” and did things wrong.

The racing stewards sent him back to the trials.

That was just last month and, just like that, The Bullet showed the making of a good horse.

He won that trial and passed his “test”, beating Dream Alliance.

Last time, there were no big issues. 

The Bullet strayed a bit in the straight but still managed to hold down third spot.

As for In All His Glory, he has been another moneyspinner for the Bulldogs Racing Stable and, as Fitzsimmons will say, he has been a good horse to have in the barn.

Since beginning his Kranji career in January 2020, he has been humming along. 

He has been to the races 19 times and has picked up four wins, two seconds and six third-place finishes.

Last start, he finally broke a sequence of five third-place finishes when, aided by a brilliant piece of front-running ride by Duric, he beat Istataba by almost four lengths in a race over the mile.

There is nothing to suggest he cannot make it two on the trot – which, in turn, should put Fitzsimmons back on the throne.

Wednesday’s gallops at Kranji by Sunday’s runners:

RACE 1
Angel Baby (M. Kellady) 37.7.
Circuit Star pace work.

RACE 2
Wan Legacy H (V. Duric) 40.7.
Storm Deity 39.2.

RACE 3
Tax Free (I. Saifudin) 39.9.
Ben Wade 40.5.
The Jun H 38.6.

RACE 4
The Bullet H 40.3.
Flak Jacket H 38.5.
Diamond Beauty (N. Zyrul) 45.2.
Headhunter (R. Stewart) gallop.

RACE 5
Shanghai Star H (S. Shafrizal) 37.7.
Fabu (Zyrul) 39.2.
Zestful 39.5.
Great Command (D. Beasley) barrier/35.7. 

RACE 6
Free Fallin’ (Kellady) 40.3.
Sir Elton H (L. Beuzelin) 39.4.
Endless pace work.
Bright Era H (K. A’Isisuhairi) 38.6.
Flaming Kirin (Shafrizal) 38.1.

RACE 8
Anyway H (M. Lerner) 36.4.
Rich Fortune 43.1.

RACE 9
Gold Cut H (Duric) 40.5.
Whiz Fizz H (Duric) 40.3.

RACE 10
Hardcore (Kellady) 38.3.
In All His Glory H 40.5.
Leatherhead (B Pinheiro) barrier/35.3. 
Amore Amore (Beasley) gallop.

RACE 11
First Choice (P.H. Seow) 41.1.
Bionics H (R. Iskandar) canter/41.6.