Mr Malek best for giant-slayer role

If you ask anyone familiar with Singapore racing who will win Sunday’s Lion City Cup, the answer will be like a broken record: Lim’s Kosciuszko, Lim’s Kosciuszko, Lim’s Kosciuszko...

Well, that is not surprising. After all, trainer Daniel Meagher’s reigning Horse of the Year has been all-conquering.

His defence of the Lion City Cup will be solid. He demonstrated that by winning his trial last Thursday in spectacular fashion.

Many of those the highest-rated contender beat were his rivals in the $300,000 Group 1 feature. So, to bring Kranji’s latest kingpin down to earth seems a tall order.

But you never know. Lim’s Kosciuszko may look invincible but, like the saying goes, there is no certainty in horse racing. Lady Luck may favour others on the day.

Super Salute is one of them. Trainer Richard Lim is fixing the blinkers in the hope that the gear will provide that extra boost.

Golden Monkey will be reunited with his Singapore Derby-winning partner, Hugh Bowman, and the combination are not out to clown around.

But the horse who probably has the best chance to upstage Lim’s Kosciuszko is the Steven Burridge-trained cancer survivor Mr Malek.

The Oscar Racing Stable-owned galloper was a star himself in the past with his Group 2 Stewards’ Cup success and many major placings.

And after he had a cancerous growth removed from his neck in late 2022, the New Zealand-bred has raced with a new lease of life.

In three starts in 2023, he ran a gallant third first-up behind Lim’s Kosciuszko in the $1 million Group 1 Kranji Mile (1,600m) on May 20, won the Group 3 Kranji Sprint (1,200m) on June 3 and scored again in Class 1 over 1,200m on July 8.

In all three outings, he was ridden by his old jockey, A’Isisuhairi Kasim, who partnered him in the Stewards’ Cup victory.

The double pushed his rating to 101 points, the second highest in the Lion City field, after Lim’s Kosciuszko (114). The rest are rated below 100.

Both A’Isisuhairi and Burridge could not fault Mr Malek’s preparation for Sunday’s feature.

He trialled well and his final gallop on Wednesday was beautiful. The horse is raring to go. All he needs is some luck to land Singapore’s richest sprint.

“I’m happy with the horse. He has won his last two starts over 1,200m, but 1,400m and 1,600m would probably be better for him. But, if things work out, he can run a top race,” said Burridge.

“Whether we can beat Lim Kosciuszko, well, that’s questionable. But the main thing is the horse is fit and well.

“He trialled well with Lim’s Kosciuszko last Thursday (finished third). It didn’t really suit him in some way because they didn’t go quick and made it a sprint home.

“Overall, I was happy with the way Mr Malek trialled and pulled up.”

A’Isisuhairi echoed Burridge’s sentiments.

“It was a good trial. He doesn’t like the Poly that much but he went through it nicely, pulled up good after the trial. Burridge was happy with him,” said the two-time top apprentice jockey.

“This morning, we gave him an easy gallop. I was following Countofmontecristo, who was accompanying him, and it was a nice, easy gallop – just to maintain his fitness.

“The horse is in good shape and feeling well, and I’m looking forward to the weekend. It’s going to be a good race.

“As we all know, Lim’s Kosciuszko is the horse to beat. But, in saying that, I’m happy Mr Malek has progressed since he came back from the surgery.

“I think he felt better than ever. Hopefully, he can continue to perform good. Fingers crossed.”

A’Isisuhairi also expects Mr Malek to perform better with the pain issues behind him.

“Mr Malek was a good horse but you must remember that last time, he had to deal with so much pain and so many other issues,” he said.

“But credit to my old boss, the horse has come back to run in the money in all his three runs and pulled up good.

“And we’re all looking forward to a good race. You never know, I just hope everything goes well with Mr Malek. I love this horse.

“We’ve won some nice races together (six), so I’m hoping he can pick up another Cup race. It’s going to be tough, but you never know.”

A’Isisuhairi had hoped for a “middle barrier” and he cannot complain with Gate 7 of 11.

“We don’t have to think so much how to race him. We can be a bit closer to the pace,” he said.

“We don’t want to let Lim’s Kosciuszko put too many lengths in front, because that horse can be hard to run down. We’ll see how it goes, we just hope for luck.”

Yes, luck is all that matters now – to topple an in-form champion.