Burridge’s Class 3 trio shine

So far, so good. That looks to be the picture coming out of Steven Burridge’s yard.

The affable trainer and his stable staff have been quietly churning out winners – like Split Second, who took out the 2,000m event on Nov 18 in authoritative fashion.

That was Burridge’s 31st winner for the season – and he is not done yet.

Sure, he is not going to catch Jason Ong (57 winners) or Tim Fitzsimmons (52) but, for the rest of the season, his yard should continue to find reasons to celebrate.

One more occasion coming up could happen as early as the afternoon of Nov 25 and right after that Class 3 race over the 1,400m is run.

Right now and on paper, Burridge, 68, has three good ones entered for the event.

That is one fewer than Jerome Tan’s quartet of runners but Burridge’s threesome do look to be in the form of their lives.

In particular, Ghalib and Asif were intimidating when taken out for their morning gallops on Nov 21.

His other runner, Lim’s Craft, did not look too shabby either.

He ran out the 600m training trip in 41.7sec with Ronnie Stewart doing the steering.

But the buzz was all about the Al-Arabiya Stable pair of Asif and Ghalib.

They were as taut and tight as racehorses could be. Working together, they would have provided trackside watchers with a “sit up and take notice” moment.

Here is how it all panned out.

Ghalib, who had Manoel Nunes in the saddle, gave Asif a couple of lengths head start but that was where the favours ended.

In full gallop, Ghalib, who is four, quickly began to reel in his one-year older stablemate and the pair raced as one over the finish line.

Ghalib clocked 36.2 for that 600m hit-out, while Asif registered 36.5.

But those who kept them in focus would have noticed that Asif was travelling well and was allowed to go a-gallop after the winning post before being reined in.

Between them, Asif and Ghalib have raced just nine times.

Asif, who is a son of Per Incanto, has two wins from four starts.

Ghalib, who is by I Am Invincible, has also won two races from his five outings.

Last time, on Nov 11, Ghalib could not reel in Akhtar (also by I Am Invincible) in a 1,200m race run on grass. He had to settle for second.

Asif, on the other hand, is a last-start winner, having taken out a 1,200m race on Oct 28.

He is holding that form and topweight of 57.5kg should not pose much of a problem.

After all, against lesser company, he has won with 58.5kg.

Ghalib will carry 54.5kg.

As for the other Burridge runner, Lim’s Craft, he is a Kranji veteran.

Indeed, the event coming up on Nov 25 will be his 50th race – and the eight-time winner gets in with 52.5kg.

After encouraging efforts in his last two runs, a ninth hurrah may yet surprise a few.

The Smart Missile eight-year-old finished third behind Bestseller in an exciting 1,400m race on Oct 7 but was promoted to second after a successful objection by Stewart against the runner-up, Grand Avante.

Last time on Nov 4, when ridden by Iskandar Rosman, Lim’s Craft ran fourth to Axel in a muddling affair, which saw him losing ground soon after the start and being bumped near the 600m.

To compound matters, he laid in under pressure in the home stretch. However, and to his credit, he did win a trial on Nov 16.

He will be raring to go.

Aside from that Class 3 race, the Class 4 contest over the mile could give Jin Sakamoto the chance to break his maiden status.

Prepared by trainer Richard Lim, he has been shaping up for a win and his work on Nov 21 did suggest that he is coming along just fine.

Sent out against the clock, Jin Sakamoto ran out the 600m in 40.7 eagerly.

Yes, Jin Sakamoto looks cherry ripe and Lim has picked a suitable race for his five-year-old to break into the winner’s circle.

brian@sph.com.sg