Pacific Atlantic has the form to swamp his rivals

With the final running of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup slotted in for Sept 7, the action is going to be hot and furious.

After all, it leads to the Grand Singapore Gold Cup on Oct 5 – which is the really big one.

But the QEII Cup has always been sentimental and it still has a pull on the heartstrings. This year’s running is no exception.

But, to get to it, racegoers at Kranji and elsewhere will first have to negotiate an interesting undercard which will feature some exciting horses.

Most were out doing their stuff on the morning of Sept 3 and prominent among the “workers” with assignments on Sept 7 were Pacific Atlantic, Red Maned and Lucky Goal.

Now, when was the last time you did NOT see a horse win in the colours of the Pacific Stable?

The answer is: Too long ago.

At the Sept 1 meeting, Pacific Sonic greeted the judge. And before that, on Aug 25, Pacific Vampire carried the jockey in those orange and white silks to a popular win.

The list could go on... but it will take up too much space.

So we will look to the immediate future – Sept 7 – and try to point you in the right direction.

The Pacific Stable has entered a bumper crop of 17 horses for the 10-race programme and one of their torchbearers could well be Pacific Atlantic.

The five-year-old son of Written Tycoon worked up a storm on the training track, clocking 37.2sec for the 600m. He was ridden by Wong Chin Chuen.

A nine-time starter who has yet to taste victory, Pacific Atlantic came close on July 21 when beaten half-a-length by Dancing Supremo in a Class 4 1,200m turf event.

He was also unlucky not to have opened accounts on June 9, when he ran into traffic problems but extricated himself to finish runner-up to Pacific Padrino in a Class 4 1,200m race on the Polytrack – only a head separated the stablemates.

Prepared by David Kok, the handsome chestnut has been working diligently towards a win, having also been to the trials on Aug 8 when he ran second to Filial Dragon (winner in a Class 4 1,200m Polytrack event on Sept 1).

Keep him in mind when he steps out in the Class 4 Div 1 1,200m turf event on Sept 7.

He will meet Dancing Supremo again but has a 2.5kg pull for that half-a-length beating.

Another galloper who should figure prominently on Sept 7 is Lucky Goal.

He had jockey Marc Lerner doing the steering when running the 600m in 42.5sec.

Lucky Goal first tasted victory on June 30. That was when he beat He’s My Halo and some other tough competitors in an Open Maiden turf race over 1,200m.

Manoel Nunes was the man in the saddle.

Trained by Jason Ong, who is running away with the trainers’ title, Lucky Goal has not been that lucky recently.

Following that win, his last three races produced a third and two seconds.

In that last outing on Aug 25, when ridden by leading apprentice Jerlyn Seow, he attempted to lead all the way – only to be collared close to home by Vgor in a Class 5 1,200m turf event.

A fortnight earlier, and in a similar race over 1,200m on turf, Lucky Goal failed by a neck to catch Quadcopter.

The four-year-old son of Shalaa is definitely better than that. Owned by the Lucky Unicorn Stable, he is still plying his trade in Class 5.

That is really his comfort zone and, although he has to carry topweight of 59kg, he should be ideally suited to track and trip.

He is worth strong each-way consideration in the Class 5 1,200m turf race on Sept 7.

The same can be said of Red Maned.

Prepared by Richard Lim, Red Maned has not won since May 25, when he beat Sacred Gold by half-a-length in a 1,200m sprint on the Polytrack.

But he, too, worked well on the training track, clocking 37.3sec after being put through a spot of cantering.

Red Maned has been rather dismal at his last few outings. The best he could do was finish fifth behind Vgor on Aug 25. All those races were over 1,200m.

But the six-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding by Burgundy still has some wins left in him.

With that gallop topping him up sufficiently, Red Maned could be worth a flutter in the Class 5 Division 1 1,400m turf event on Sept 7. The extra distance should suit him.

 

brian@sph.com.sg