Nationality, Jomo in good order
Freedman duo impress on the training track
Leading the pack in that race for training honours, legendary horseman Lee Freedman could extend his advantage on Sunday when he sends out Nationality and Jomo in races 5 and 10 respectively.
The two last-start winners were in their element on the training track yesterday and all indications point towards both horses carrying on the good work.
Nationality clocked a speedy 34.2sec for the 600m while Jomo stopped the clocks at 35.4sec. Both were ridden by jockey Craig Grylls.
A beaten favourite on debut in September, Nationality quickly returned to the good books of racegoers when he won his next start a fortnight ago.
That day, when partnered by Daniel Moor, the four-year-old never gave his rivals a look-in.
He hit the front a long way out and was never going to get beaten in the run to the post.
Owned by the China Horse Club Stable, this son of Commands is just getting started and will go on to win bigger and better races.
As for Jomo, superlatives will be hard to find to describe his win on debut.
That was on Oct 19, the same day when his stablemate, Nationality, blitzed the opposition.
Ridden by Moor - who will give up both mounts due to injury and suspension - Jomo made his rivals look like a mediocre bunch of hacks.
Taking the lead when the chutes flew open, he was never threatened. All that Moor had to do that day was stay in the saddle and steer.
Jomo did all the rest. Indeed, had his jockey taken a look behind when they were thundering down the straight, he would have seen panic on the faces of his fellow hoops.
Such was Jomo's dominance.
The four-year-old would eventually win by almost five lengths - easing up.
For punters who backed him down to the $13 top pick, they would be hard pressed to find an easier way to make a honest buck.
On their workouts yesterday, both of these Freedman runners looked outstanding and they should oblige in their respective races.
Also on Sunday, there appears to be another good one in Star Jack.
From the stables of Hideyuki Takaoka, the four-year-old looked in great order when he pulled away from a stablemate to clock 36.3sec on the main Polytrack.
The Frenchman Olivier Placais was in the saddle.
For a horse who had his first Kranji race start in March, Star Jack is shaping up to be a prolific moneyspinner for his connections.
After just six starts, he has banked in more than $100,000. The bulk of that came courtesy of his two wins in June and July.
Star Jack broke his maiden status in fine style, beating Gold City in an 1,800m race.
It was just his fourth start and he quickly followed it up with another victory one month later.
That was over the stayers' trip of 2,000m and he came home full of running to beat Target by half a length.
Two months off the scene, Star Jack returned to racing in late September and, in a race over the shorter 1,400m, he did well to collect some minor money when finishing third to Murrayfield.
That outing, coupled with his work on the training track, would have topped him up sufficiently for his assignment in Race 8.
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