Latent Power blows them away
The best from the trials on Tuesday morning
Two horses who showed blistering speed at the trials on Tuesday morning deserve utmost respect.
Latent Power was one of them. Metal World was the other.
First off, let us deal with Latent Power - and for two good reasons.
He turned in a big showing, winning his trial in 60.28sec.
Second, he is entered for Saturday's bumper 12-race programme.
But first, the trial. Ridden by Saimee Jumaat, the former champion jockey who gave up his trainer's licence recently, Latent Power jumped cleanly from the outermost gate.
Right then and there, he put daylight between himself and the chasing pack.
Holy Eleanor and Heng Xing huffed and puffed trying to reel him in. But, even as they cleared the 600m marker, Latent Power had eight lengths on the pair - and plenty of petrol in the tank.
Into the stretch and Saimee gave his mount a breather. Latent Power relaxed. Indeed, if he went any slower, his gait would have been that of a strong canter.
A furlong out and the two chasers came at him with hammers and tongs but Latent Power was not going to be denied victory. He took the trial by three parts of a length.
The Irish mare, Holy Eleanor, who took second spot, garnered plenty of admirers. She will have support when she makes her Kranji debut.
But it is Latent Power that we should be keeping an eye on when he tackles Saturday's Class 4 Polytrack 1,100m sprint.
Trained by Mark Walker for Falcon Racing No. 5 Stable, Latent Power has yet to realise his full potential.
He has had six outings since making his debut before "lockdown" in March last year.
It was at his fifth start, some two months ago, that he picked up a win. It was a good one. Showing his trademark speed, he led all the way to beat Planter in Class 5 over the Poly 1,000m.
Promoted to Class 4, he then finished unplaced to Sure Will Do over the same trip.
Rested through the month of March, he has had - including Tuesday's hit-out - two trials this month. He won both, which tells me he is ready to make an impact on Saturday.
As for Metal World, he had former top jockey Richard Lim in the saddle when winning the second trial of the morning.
Like Latent Power in the first, he was off and gone at barrier rise. Clearing away like he was late for a hot date, he had Sacred Rebel and Hardcore chasing shadows all the way down the back straight. Lim kept him on a short rein and went for broke over the final 200m.
If any other runner looked dangerous, it was Mustengo. Ridden by Saimee, he worked into the trial nicely and eventually took third spot.
But it was all about Metal World. He cruised in to win by over three lengths. As for his time for the 1,000m, it was the same 60.28sec returned by Latent Power.
Formerly known as You Qian Zhuan, Metal World's last-start second to Prosperous Return was a good effort. His trial win does suggest he is running into a rich vein of form.
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