Heartening Flyer set to soar again
Heartening Flyer, who won the final race of the 2021 Singapore racing season on Nov 27, is gearing up nicely for his new campaign at Kranji next month.
On the training track yesterday, the Tivic Stable-owned and Michael Clements-trained five-year-old New Zealand-bred galloped beautifully over 600m in 38.7sec. He was the star performer from the Clements’ team of horses who went through their paces for the racing resumption.
The first Singapore meeting after the month’s break is on Jan 2. It is a Sunday meeting.
We all know what a prolific horse Heartening Flyer is from his five wins and three seconds from 12 starts. So, you can bet that his connections are aiming high with their rising galloper.
His “ultimate goal” is the Group 1 Kranji Mile, which was worth $1 million last year and won by Minister. The 1,600m event on May 22 will be the first feature of the 2022 racing season.
Clements, who is visiting family in England and has also viewed a handful of horses, said Heartening Flyer has had a “short freshen up after his last-start win”.
“We have a couple of suitable races in mind for him in January,” added the Zimbabwe-born naturalised Singaporean. “Ultimately, the Kranji Mile is his target. We have always rated the horse highly, but have not had the opportunity yet to run him in a Cup race.”
Heartening Flyer started modestly with his debut victory in Restricted Maiden over the Polytrack 1,200m on July 26 last year.
A promotion to Novice class did not stop him. He scored again, this time over 1,200m on turf, underlining his all-weather capability. It was on Aug 16.
After a sixth in the Group 2 Singapore Classic over 1,400m for three and four-year-olds, he bounced back to win again in quick succession in Classes 4 and 3.
He did not win again until his last outing, seven starts later. But he was second three times and fourth twice in between. This proves that he rarely runs a bad race. With maturity, his connections can expect some fun with their horse.
Clements’ other horses who worked quite well yesterday were Muraahib (38.8) and Shepherd’s Hymn (two gallops, the second round in 35.1 for the last 600m).
Trainer Shane Baertschiger’s last-start beaten fancy Charming Diamond can be given another chance. The five-year-old New Zealand-bred looked well when he travelled on the bit over 600m in a leisurely 42.7.
He came in for inspired betting last start, also on the final race meeting of the year, because of his drop to Class 5. But he finished dead last.
Baertschiger attributed the poor performance to being slowly away and suffering interference at the start. The gelding performs best when racing up on the speed.
The barrier trials will resume this morning, with four heats scheduled.
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