Rubik Kid finally solved

Trainer James Peters’ decision to run Rubik Kid on the quick back-up on March 23 proved to be right on the money.

First off, the Rubick three-year-old had pulled up in good order after his close second to Sweet N Sour on March 17.

Otherwise, the question to run or not to run within six days would not even arise.

Once that box was ticked, the Englishman said he also had to check out the field in the $20,000 Open Maiden race (1,200m) before locking anything in.

“Of course, he had to pull up well after his race last week, and he was fine,” he said.

“But I also wanted to look at the field first before confirming it. I saw it wasn’t a super-strong field, it was a winnable race, so I decided to run him.”

After his stablemate Flying Success was scratched, the small eight-horse field was left with only Big Max, Bureaucrat and Lim’s Everest to have finished in the money.

Logic did prevail with $8 favourite Rubik (Krisna Thangamani) leading that trio home in that order, though long shot Kota Ranger (Faiz Khair) nudged Lim’s Everest (Marc Lerner) out of the quartet by a head.

The winning time was 1min 11.27sec for the 1,200m on the long course.

One week after A Better Tomorrow shed his maiden tag for the yard, Peters was delighted that Rubik Kid has followed suit.

“Things are going well for these young horses. Last week, it was A Better Tomorrow – a nice win for his owner Super Singh Stable from Malaysia,” said Peters.

“They have been very patient with this horse and let’s hope they can have a bit more fun with him.

“This week, I’ve won with this horse I bought with Peter Twomey at the Magic Millions Yearling sale. I’m just glad he’s won his first race.”

Some feel that breakthrough at his eighth try could have come one race earlier on March 17, though.

Ridden by apprentice jockey Jamil Sarwi in a Maiden race (1,200m), he looked home and hosed when he drew on level terms with Sweet N Sour, but just could not quite finish it off.

“He was caught wide, and I think the kid sat too long, but he’s only an apprentice,” said Peters.

“The horse had 59kg, and that’s why we used a claimer. He still ran a good race.

“Today, Krisna was back on and he rode him very well.”

Besides the benefit of being more experienced, the Malaysian lightweight jockey is also more exposed to Rubik Kid, having guided him to three placings from four rides before.

Krisna, for one, knew when to hit the button – at the top of the straight, after stalking leader Big Max (Ryan Curatolo) throughout.

The pair asserted their clear superiority as they put daylight on the rest, with Rubik Kid beating Big Max by 1 3/4 lengths.

So dominant were the winner and the runner-up that Bureaucrat finished more than six lengths away in third. The winning time was 1min 11.27sec for the 1,200m on the long course.

“It was a weak field and there was no pace. Big Max was the only horse to beat, and I knew he would lead,” said Krisna.

“My horse was still in hand when we came into the straight. I think he’ll get 1,400m one day.”

Peters will just play it by ear as far as the future goes.

“I haven’t planned anything for him, but I don’t think it’ll be the three-year-old races,” he said.

The yard’s 3YO hopes instead rest on Last Supper, who makes his comeback in the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1,200m) on April 6.

After a two-from-two, the son of Grunt had his first taste of defeat at his third and last start in a Class 4 (1,200m) on Feb 11, when a luckless second to Wins One.

Under Manoel Nunes, the favourite enjoyed a cosy run on the rails but could not quite take the gap at the 300m. By the time he found daylight, the bird had flown.

Peters said he would have included one lead-up run for Last Supper had he been more robust.

“Last Supper will trial on Thursday and will run in the first 1,200m leg,” said Peters who has booked Ryan Curatolo for the ride.

“He’s a bit fragile. It took a while for him to recover, he was off his feed, or he could have run earlier.

“I didn’t want him to go into the series below his best. So, he will go in fresh.”

manyan@sph.com.sg