Heng Kingdom looks good to go
Leticia Dragon's charge works well ahead of tomorrow's race
Granted, Heng Kingdom is in Class 5. But he really isn't that bad.
Actually, he can still be considered a "progressive" sort with plenty of good racing left in him.
Ahead of tomorrow's race over the mile, his trainer, Leticia Dragon sent him out for a spin on the training yesterday morning and he did catch the attention of those early-risers at trackside.
Looking the part, he ticked all the boxes when running the 600m in a fluent 36.6sec.
A glance at his record won't inspire confidence and you must be the really adventurous sort to risk good money on him.
One win from 24 starts. Okay, so he could have done better.
But Heng Kingdom has been running into good form and his run in August really caught the eye. That day on Aug 30, Heng Kingdom had few friends and, even with champion apprentice WH Kok on the reins, he garnered little support at the betting windows.
Indeed, they sent him off as a $101 roughie but, boy, did he surprise them. Checked at the 600m, he gathered himself, took the bit and was flowing all the way down the final stretch.
But that bit of interference had done the damage and, on the line, only a nose separated the $101 longshot from Pakatan Warrior - the $22 joint favourite.
Three weeks later, he was soundly beaten by Tiger Force and, at his last start - when expected to do really well - he put in a disappointing performance which baffled his rider and his connections.
However, on the strength of yesterday's workout, this Class 5 trier deserves another chance. It's not the easiest of races but it's not beyond him.
With few horses - understandably - going against the clock yesterday morning, Siam Blue Vanda drew attention to his chances with a nice, invigorating workout.
Galloping on Track 4, he ran up the 600m in 42sec and then, for good measure, he ran down the stretch, covering the trip in 39sec.
From Michael Clements' yard, he meets some smart ones in Race 9, the 1,400m sprint for Class 4 Division 3 runners.
But Siam Blue Vanda has shown in his 10 starts so far that he has some sort of a future ahead of him.
So, you might ask, why hasn't he shown much since putting together that brilliant hat-trick at his first three starts?
Well, aside from winning, he has been running some pretty decent races and, last time out, some 13 days ago, he had a rough passage in that 1,200m race - but still managed to pick himself up and run fifth to Lim's Craft.
That was in Class 3. Tomorrow, Siam Blue Vanda will race against Class 4 opposition and, if the impost of 59kg doesn't stop him, this class-dropper could give them a hiding.
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