Makin may well make it again

If you were on Makin at his last-start win on Oct 21, do not jump off because he could do the same on Saturday.

Sent out for a spot of work on Tuesday, Makin emerged as one of the star performers.

Handled by Manoel Nunes, he ran out the 600m in 38.4sec, leaving little to the imagination.

Yes, Makin is holding that last-start winning form and, over the 1,400m on the Long Course on Saturday, he could have that Class 4 contest at his mercy.

A million-dollar purchase as a yearling, the son of Written Tycoon had five starts in Australia for a win, a second and a third.

Plenty was expected from him when he made his home at Kranji in mid-April.

But his then-trainer Mchael Clements played it cool and did not rush the youngster into action.

Indeed, he only made his racing debut in August and, even then, he did not send out any signals.

The four-year-old ran an ordinary sixth to Charminton.

Indeed, we only got a glimpse of his worth when he ran a smack-up fourth to February on Sept 23.

That day, he was held up for a run from the 400m to the 150m. When he found daylight, he charged home only to miss out on the money by a neck, a length and a nose.

Right now, that is an old tale. We saw on Oct 21 just what he can do. That is, win races.

He took that one by the scruff of the neck and more victories should be in store.

Now under the care of Steven Burridge, he will have to carry topweight of 58.5kg on Saturday.

But it should not be a worry. He won that last one with a load of 59kg and, with track and trip to his liking, Makin will be looking like a winner a long way from home.

Burridge, who saddled a double at the just-concluded meeting, has been enjoying a good run recently. The yard could continue producing winners.

Hasten, who is another one of his seven runners entered for Saturday’s action, went into many notebooks after running out the 600m in 38.2sec.

Unraced in Australia where he was purchased by Burridge, Hasten is still a work in progress. He arrived at Kranji on April 3 and was sent to the trials in July.

A month later, he won a trial with Simon Kok up, clocking 1min 01.56sec for the 1,000m.

Burridge then saw fit to send the Hellbent three-year-old to the races on Aug 20.

That day, he was peeled out for a run at the 300m mark and, under Kok, he charged home to take the honours by three parts of a length.

Hasten could then have made it two on the trot on Sept 16.

But he had everything go against him and had to settle for third spot, a rank he replicated at his last outing in a Novice race (1,200m) on Oct 14.

Saturday will see Hasten having his first run over the 1,400m in the $50,000 Class 4 Division 1 event.

It should not be a worry for the Burridge camp as Hasten does prefer to finish off his races and, even though his win was over the 1,200m, the extra 200m should be to his advantage.

Legend Of Niagara also caught the eye on the training track.

Ridden by Krisna Thangamani, he completed his workout with a 39.6sec sprint over the 600m. He would have got nods of approval.

Bred in New Zealand, the son of Niagara arrived here in May and trainer Mahadi Taib sent him for the first of his three trials on July 21.

It was a good stretch-out and Legend Of Niagara finished fourth.

But he was a different horse when sent out for his next trial on Aug 3. That day, he fought out the finish to beat Wednesday by a nose, clocking a smart 1min 00.43 for the trip.

In quick succession, he won his next trial in 1min 01.13sec and it was on Aug 27 that Mahadi sent him out for his first race.

Alas, on the day, he ran into that immensely talented galloper named Lord’s Command and had to settle for second.

But he was not disgraced. If anything, he earned a fan base and they backed him to the hilt when they next saw him at the races.

Again, Legend Of Niagara, who went off as the $11 favourite, had to settle for second spot, beaten a head by Cash King.

Last time, on Oct 14, he did not race like a “legend”. Never in the hunt, he finished a long way back.

He contests the $30,000 Class 5 race (1,200m) on Saturday, and is clearly one worth tossing into the mix for those novelty bets.

brian@sph.com.sg