Inferno razes Class 3 rivals to the ground
Kranji's next big thing now eyes the S'pore Classic
The hype last week was the return of Kranji's next big thing - trainer Cliff Brown's Champion Juvenile Inferno.
Racing pundits had made it seem like his winning Saturday's $70,000 Class 3 Div 2 event over the 1,200m on turf was just a formality.
It was. Racegoers were treated to yet another piece of sheer class and brilliant power, as Inferno roasted his rivals to ink a date with the $250,000 Singapore Classic over 1,400m on Aug 30.
The Group 2 race is the second leg of the coronavirus-delayed Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge. This will lead to the final leg - the $400,000 Group 1 Singapore Guineas over 1,600m - on Sept 26.
After his "soft" 11/4-length victory, Brown said: "He was very impressive. He did it very easily. He also ran a very good time.
"He will now head towards the Singapore Classic and eventually the Singapore Guineas. That's the plan for him."
Replacing Michael Rodd, who has returned to Australia, champion jockey Vlad Duric jumped the much-vaunted $6 favourite swiftly and immediately held back to save petrol.
Jockey Benny Woodworth managed to cross in from his wide berth on the Desmond Koh-trained Legend Of The Sun and led by a couple of lengths.
Duric was contented to be slightly further than midfield, albeit a bit wide, knowing his horse possesses an explosive finish like his former Barree Stable-owned stablemate, the multiple-Group winner Horse of the Year Debt Collector.
When asked just a little shortly after straightening, Inferno extended his strides and had the race won 220m out.
He stopped the clock in a fast 1min 09.66sec.
It was his fifth success from six starts. The sky's the limit now. His earlier victories included the Group 2 Aushorse Golden Horseshoe and Group 3 Saas Fee Stakes, both over 1,200m on turf.
In his only defeat, he was carried wide and finished well for second to Siam Warrior.
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