Moongate Star to shine again
Desmond Koh-trained last-start winner has thrived and booking of Duric signals intent
There is every indication that Moongate Star is back to his best.
Obviously, the four-month break from a bleeding attack has done the Desmond Koh-trained and Goldhill Stable-owned six-year-old a world of good.
The New Zealand-bred by Atlante and Slinkymalinki sprang a surprise in his previous start on the final day of the 2022 season, after finishing last in his two preceding runs.
The bay gelding showed that he has thrived further with that run under his belt by impressing in a swift hit-out on Tuesday.
Taken out by winning jockey Saifudin Ismail, he breezed over 600m on the Polytrack in 35sec and pulled up wanting more.
Remaining in Class 3, with only 2.5kg more on his back, he looks set to make it a double in Race 8 on the opening day of the 2023 season.
It is not a concern that he is coming back to the Poly 1,000m. He has won three times over the distance.
With Saifudin serving a careless riding suspension, Moongate Star’s connections have engaged Vlad Duric and that is a strong pointer to his chances.
Barrier-wise, he gets the middle lane – if the two horses drawn inside of him do not secure their places – in the 12-horse field. He won from Gate 8 last time.
Back to his last-start success, he was ignored in the betting, which was understandable.
Most would have have struck his name off, after his previous two disappointing runs and his bleeding episode.
But those who had faith in his comeback on Dec 26 were rewarded with a juicy $200 win payout.
Saifudin parked him a handy third early and, when asked, his mount produced plenty to beat Silent Is Gold by a ½-length. He clocked a smart 1min 04.49sec.
He seemed to have carried a bit of excess baggage then but now looks picture-perfect after the comeback outing. He is the horse to beat.
The fact that his winning form has been franked is another plus point.
On Tuesday, Silent Is Gold won his 1,000m trial impressively in 1:00.41, the second-fastest of the five heats.
Debut winner Sabah Ace is another sound proposition.
The David Kok-trained three-year-old mesmerised with his big-bounding strides when asked to quicken in the Restricted Maiden event over the Polytrack 1,100m on Nov 5.
He cleared away to beat Saturday’s Race 2 top hope Italian Revolution by 1¼ lengths in 1:05.28.
The extra 100m in Race 10, the $50,000 Class 4 Div 2 event over the Poly 1,200m, will be even better for Sabah Ace.
His trial on Dec 29 was good. He finished a soft third behind the promising newcomer Xiao Bao Bei.
Italian Revolution was also second in his debut. He should be third-time lucky.
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