Cavalry all set to lead the charge

Sometimes, and more so at these morning trials, you have to look beyond the winners to catch the next “winner”.

We have seen it happen before and we might have seen it at the two trials which were run off on March 19.

That morning, two horses who did not figure in the winning frame certainly caught the eye and, in the process, they drew attention to their winning chances in their next couple of races.

We are talking about Cavalry and Navy Seals.

Cavalry finished second behind Per Incrown in the opening hit-out while Navy Seals charged home to take third behind Cheerful Baby in the second and final heat.

Here is how it panned out for Cavalry.

Ridden by Jaden Lloyd and jumping from the innermost gate, Cavalry settled second from last in the four-horse affair.

There he stayed – seemingly unperturbed by the dirt being kicked back onto him by Per Incrown and Nimbus Cloud.

Striding out freely, it looked like he was enjoying the scenery and the crisp morning air.

That was until Lloyd spurred him into action at the top of the home straight.

By then, the two frontrunners – especially Per Incrown – seemed to have disappeared in the distance.

But Cavalry dug in and, as if hearing the sound of bugles in battle, he fashioned a run wide out and quickly put Nimbus Cloud to the sword.

Per Incrown, the mount of in-form apprentice Jerlyn Seow, was something else.

The eight-year-old by popular sire Per Incanto, had opened too big a gap and the old boy romped in to take the trial by almost two lengths.

Doing his best work late, Cavalry motored home for second, leaving Nimbus Cloud (Krisna Thangamani) more than 16 lengths adrift.

While not taking anything away from the Jason Ong-trained Per Incrown, who won his last two starts and will be shooting for a hat-trick at his next outing, Cavalry was the name which went into numerous notebooks.

LIke an athlete whose career has been dogged by injuries, Cavalry has not had any favours.

He garnered a busload of fans when he won a Class 3 (1,400m) on debut on July 8, 2023.

And that fan base would have grown to Taylor Swift proportions had the son of Tavistock won his next start a month later.

He came close and almost upset the apple cart when running second to Golden Monkey in the Group 1 Singapore Derby (1,800m).

That done and with the future looking bright, it all fell apart at his next start on Aug 27.

That day, in a Class 1 race (1,600m), he was punted down to $14 favouritism but his backers took a beating when he beat just one home.

It was later revealed that Cavalry had suffered a bleeding attack.

Trainer Steven Burridge took over him after trainer Michael Clements left Singapore shortly after, but he had to serve a mandatory three-month suspension first.

After passing a bleeder’s test, Cavalry is back in business and barring any more health issues, he should be ready to mount another assault at his next start.

As for Navy Seals, he took third in that trial won by Cheerful Baby, but it was a mighty effort and it should hold him in good stead for when he next faces the starter.

Taken out by Marc Lerner, the US Navy Flag three-year-old was unsighted in the early part of the trial.

Up front at the 600m, Cheerful Baby (Iskandar Rosman) and Thunderstorm (Manoel Nunes) traded blows while Lerner watched the action from his spot in last place.

It was only at the 300m mark that we saw Navy Seals – prominent in his red hood but still many lengths from the lead – come charging home.

That late flourish would slot him into third spot – which, all things considered, was a good effort.

Prepared by Tan Kah Soon, Navy Seals opened his account when winning a Class 5 race over the 1,800m on Feb 3.

With that nice trial under his belt, he will go into Race 4 on March 23, a Class 5 race (1,800m), with track and trip in his favour.

Lerner rides him. He does look the pick of Tan’s four runners entered for the meeting.

brian@sph.com.sg