Duo ready to go one better
Grand Koonta the best bet at Kranji tonight and celebrate with Cru Bourgeois on Sunday
Grand Koonta and Cru Bourgeois have improved tremendously and are set to salute at Kranji tonight and Sunday respectively.
Grand Koonta beat all but the highly promising Ararat Lady on debut. In that Feb 1 race over the Polytrack 1,100m, the James Peters-trained grey Irish-bred was closing in fast to finish a length behind the winner.
He had jumped from the widest gate (No. 11) but is favourably drawn in pole position in the final event tonight.
Furthermore, the four-year-old gelding has shown vast improvement. In his trial last week, Grand Koonta was kept on a tight leash to finish second. There was no doubt he would have won had jockey Daniel Moor released the brakes.
It is not a strong Class 4 field over 1,200m on turf tonight, so Grand Koonta should break through for an early success.
Cru Bourgeois ran well in both starts but luck was not on his side. He finished second on both occasions - by half a length behind I'm Incredible on debut and then by 3/4 lengths behind Sacred Croix.
It was over 1,200m on turf on both occasions. The Stephen Gray-trained four-year-old raced handily before closing in nicely. The two runs have benefited the Kiwi-bred gelding.
Like Grand Koonta, Cru Bourgeois has been working diligently and should be third-time lucky in Sunday's Race 4, a Maiden event over the 1,200m on turf.
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