Nepean will be up to the task

These days, it is not unusual to see Shane Baertschiger walking around with a wry smile.

He must be a happy man. And why not? He has been doing fine since the season began and has four winners to show for the three days of racing.

On Day One, he introduced us to an exciting prospect in Attila who scored on debut.

Then, on Day Two, he made the “seniors” feel real good when the 11-year-old Flak Jacket and seven-year-old Be Bee wound back the clock to score comeback wins.

And just last week, Baertschiger would have felt real good when watching Red Ocean score his fourth win from just eight starts.

That is the story so far – and there are many more chapters to come.

Baertschiger has entered a team of nine for Saturday’s show and, while modest by trainers’ standards, it appears to be a compact line-up.

He was a busy man trackside yesterday morning and, in particular, two of his runners impressed in their workouts.

Nepean was paced by Longhu to cover the 600m in 37.2sec, while Be You and Eight Ball had their own personal duel over the scurry trip. They covered the distance in 36.7sec.

Of the quartet, Nepean was most impressive.

The son of Roman Emperor has been a “money box” for his connections and, although getting long in the tooth, he is closing in on $500,000 in career earnings.

The eight-year-old has won six races. The last one was in October when he scored a nice win over the 1,400m.

It was a tough field of sprinters – some of them half his age. But, like a hot knife through butter, he made it look easy, winning by almost two lengths.

Following that win, Nepean had just one more run. That was on Nov 14. He seemed flat over the 1,200m, beating just two home.

But it was quickly forgotten when, just last week, he sizzled at the trials, winning his hit-out in truly dominant fashion.

That day, Matthew Kellady was the man in the saddle.

Nepean faces a real test on Saturday. He takes on the likes of Katak and Heartening Flyer. Both are rising stars who are looking to stamp their authority on the new season.

Like Baertschiger, Kellady has also had a good start to the season, having partnered Attila, Be Bee and Red Ocean to victory.

Much respected in local racing, Kellady has – through the years – enjoyed a great partnership with the lanky Australian conditioner and yesterday saw him work on both Nepean and Be You.

A four-year-old, Be You has had two wins, three seconds and a third from eight Kranji starts and, it could be said, he is just getting started.

That said, it is worth noting that Be You has not won a race since last March. But it is, by no means, a reflection of his character or ability.

Be You had only three races since that win in March and two of them were high-class races – the Three-Year-Old Sprint and the Three-Year-Old Classic.

However, he had a good trial last Thursday and was beaten by Universal Soldier only in the last stride.

Baertschiger’s patience with his youngster could pay dividends on Saturday, when he takes on rivals over the 1,200m on the short course.

It is his kind of race. It is on the turf where Be You scored both his wins.

It is a Class 4 event – which is his grade.

And we know he races well fresh, having won on debut way back in August 2020.

Yesterday’s Kranji trackwork:

CLASS 4 – 1,200M 
Mr Clint (M Ewe) 37.9. 
Nepean H (M Kellady) 37.2.
So Hi Class H (N Zyrul) 37.1.
Pennywise H (T Krisna) canter/37.2 
Preditor (Kellady) 44.1.
Elite Incredible    38.3.
Trumpy H (S Shafrizal) 35.3. MONDAY: Katak H canter/36.7. Heartening Flyer H (Shafrizal) 38.2.

CLASS 4 – 1,600M
King Louis (Krisna) barrier/34.5.
Sun Power (M Nunes) canter/37.8.
Implement 38.3.
Superlative H (Krisna) 37.3.
Sound The Siren (Zyrul) 39.2.
Royalty H (TH Koh) 37.1.
Golden Tiger (M Zaki) 36.8.
MONDAY: Split Second (WH Kok) barrier/39.7.

CLASS 4 – 1,400M
Green Star 36.8.
Thunder H 38.4.
The Wild Bunch (T See) 36.4.
Glasgow (Kok) 38.3.
Billy Elliot H 35.5.
Salamence (S John) 40.2. 
Sage 40.8
MONDAY: Prodigal H 37.3.

CLASS 5 (1) – 1,200M
Wawasan H (PH Seow) 34.6.
Boom Shakalaka 41.1.
Beer Garden (Nunes) 45.
Charming Diamond 37.
Beat The Light H (M Lerner) 39.4.
Cavalla Court 40.6.
Crown Dancing (John) gallop.
Kakadu (John) 36.7.

CLASS 4 – 1,200M
Universal Empire H (Koh) 37.9.
Limited Edition (R Shafiq) 36.7.
Our Pinnacle H 41.7.
Longhu H (Zaki) 37.2.
Crystal Warrior H (Nunes) 34.3.
Renzo H (K A’Isisuhairi) 39.2.
Magnifique (I Saifudin) 35.4.
Den Of Thieves H 39.6.
Russian Twist 40.4.
Country Boss canter/37.2.
MONDAY: Siam Royal Orchid H
(L Beuzelin) 36.

CLASS 4 – 1,200M
Be You H (Kellady) 36.7.
Sahabat 35.3.
Stenmark canter/36.7.
Beyond Sacred (Shafiq) 36.8.
Hotshots Slam (A’Isisuhairi) canter/38.4.
Arion Passion (R Iskandar) 37.1.
Seson (O Chavez) 37.9.

CLASS 5 – 1,800M
Ace Sovereign H (Nunes) 38.2.
Sun Conqueror (Zaki) barrier/35.5.
Ksatria H (Beuzelin) 36.3.
Sayonara (A’Isisuhairi) 37.3.
Red Riding Wood (Ewe) 40.2.
Awesome Conqueror (Saifudin) barrier/34.9.
Scooter 34.6.
Qilin Top Form 41.1.

CLASS 5 (2) – 1,100M 
Ben Wade H 38.1.
Thomas De Lago (Ewe) 41.6.
Retallica (Lerner) 39.1.
Bright Sun (Seow) barrier/36.1.
Golden Win (Koh) 38.1.
Flaming Kirin (Zaki) 37.

CLASS 5 (2) – 1,200M
Super Speed (Kok) 38.1.
Maximilian (Ewe) 38.6.
My Boss (Iskandar) 40.2.
Lim’s Shot (See) 43.2.
Dragon Ryker canter/39.2.
Accumulation canter/42.5.
Sportscaster 36.9.
Speed Racer 38.5.
Winning Hammer (Saifudin) 39.

CLASS 5 (1) – 1,100M
Don’t Tell Tilly H (Chavez) 37.3.
Eight Ball H 36.7.
Happy Friday H (John) 44.5.
Bizar Wins 42.2.
Supermax (John) canter/35.8.
Super Posh 37.9.
Victorem (T Rehaizat) 38.7.
Gold Zest 37.4.
Red Roar H (Saifudin) 36.2.
The Wild Prince (Koh) 37.
Gamely H (Lerner) 38.5.

RESTRICTED MAIDEN – 1,200M
Dabble (Kellady) 38.4.
Big Green Hat 38.9.
Nineoneone 34.6.
Blue Idol (Krisna) 41.5.
Alqantur H (Beuzelin) 39.2.
Bounty Rainbows H (Shafrizal) 39.2.
Classic Eleven 39.5.
Sirius (Chavez) 38.4.
Song Of Nature (Koh) 38.4.
Xiyou (Kok) 37.8.
MONDAY: Poruna Cabeza (Shafrizal) 36.6.