Lucky Jinsha leaves rivals stranded

It is not often at the morning trials that a horse makes you stop taking notes, sit up from your slouch and truly take notice.

Well, Lucky Jinsha did just that.

On the morning of Feb 8, he cruised to the line under his own steam, beating his nearest rival by two lengths while leaving the rest wallowing in his wake.

So, you ask: “What is new?”

After all, that is how Lucky Jinsha likes doing things. Smash and grab. Hit and run.

Well, the script was unchanged for his latest trial but it was truly nice to see his time for the Poly 1,000m.

Never urged by his rider, Zyrul Nor Azman, to go any faster, he galloped home under a nice hold in 58.72sec.

Bruno Queiroz, on runner-up Sky Eye, tried to make a race of it but found it was to no avail.

So he allowed his mount to take him home – all the while avoiding the kickback from Lucky Jinsha’s hooves.

Manoel Nunes, on third-placed Geobels Glory, was also content to simply observe the action up front and he never really threatened.

Yes, on the day, it was all about Lucky Jinsha. If anything, the multiple-winner from trainer Tim Fitzsimmons’ yard served notice that he should not be taken lightly in the big races coming up.

He was unfortunate to have had to face a resurgent Super Salute at his last start – the Group 3 New Year Cup (Poly 1,200m) – on Jan 6.

In what was a terrific tussle to the line, Lucky Jinsha – who led from the get-go while showing a massive price of $298 on the win – went down by a head.

Had he taken out that New Year Cup, it would have been his ninth victory and his back balance would have swelled to over $300,000.

Well, there are more races to come and, in the form that he looks to be in right now, Lucky Jinsha should easily build on the riches he has already won for his owners, the Lucky Unicorn Stable.

In the opening trial of the morning, City Gold Friend caught the eye.

He finished third to Healthy Baby and Commander Jones in a tight photo finish which saw the top three horses cross the line almost locked as one.

Healthy Baby, ridden by Queiroz, eventually got the verdict. He beat Commander Jones – the mount of Ryan Curatolo – by a short head in 1min 00.54sec. A nose further back came City Gold Friend.

However, it was City Gold Friend who ticked all the boxes.

Trained by David Kok and ridden by apprentice jockey Clyde Leck, he took the lead on settling and soon had Commander Jones and Healthy Baby tracking his every move.

Into the home stretch and, for a moment, Creative Dreams joined in the tussle.

But the leading trio soon brushed him aside as they raced to the line. It was observed that, although finishing in third spot, City Gold Friend did look like he was going best of the lot.

Indeed and after passing the finish line, Leck – realising he had a ton of horse beneath him – allowed City Gold Friend to gallop freely until deep into the back straight before pulling him up.

A four-year-old by Super One, City Gold Friend closed off the 2023 season with two victories in the last quarter.

He opened his Kranji account with a win over the mile on Oct 7. Two runs later, on Nov 11, he again showed his prowess over the 1,600m when beating Atlas by almost two lengths. He should win more races.

The same could be said for the Donna Logan-trained Red Maned. He took possession of the last trial with a good front-running exhibition.

Partnered by Curatolo, he was quickly into his stride and led his eight rivals to the 600m and into the top of the straight.

Asked to open up by the Frenchman, Red Maned took the invitation and cleared away to win by almost two lengths in 1:00.43.

An all-the-way winner over the 1,400m on March 25 while with trainer Stephen Crutchley, Red Maned has been lying dormant for almost a year.

However, his last couple of runs over the shorter 1,200m trip have been “okay”. Both times saw him doing his best work late.

It tells us that he is shaping up for another win, which is long overdue. So keep him on your radar. He might soon pop up at a price.

brian@sph.com.sg