Sky Eye set to run a sizzler

Twice a winner over the Polytrack 1,000m trip, Sky Eye must be treated with utmost respect in Sunday’s $70,000 sprint over that same distance.

Prepared by Jason Lim, Sky Eye is one of two runners from Lim’s yard who have been entered for the Class 3 “flyer”.

The other is Crystal Warrior.

An impressive winner two starts back when beating a Class 4 field by a commanding 21/2 lengths, Sky Eye was on his toes in a workout at Kranji yesterday morning.

Ridden by Manoel Nunes, who was the man in the driver’s seat when winning that sprint on Feb 13, Sky Eye easily disposed of the 600m in 38.2sec.

Bumped up a class after that impressive win, Sky Eye was sixth in his next start – which was his last start.

But less than three lengths separated the top six sprinters in that Poly 1,100m contest.

That day, Sky Eye tried to motor home with his front-running tactics. But the last 100m proved sapping and there was nothing he could do when Spirit Of Big Bang swooped on him in that lunge to the line.

In a highly competitive Class 3, he will again have his work cut out for him. But, back to his favoured 1,000m, he could be the one leading them home.

From that 1,000m race to the 2,000m slogger, the question racegoers are asking is: Just how much was taken out of Hero when he overcame adversity and fought so hard for victory two Saturdays ago?

Well, going on Hero’s “exhibition” on the training track yesterday, the answer in two words could be “not much”.

Hero is as menacing and dangerous as he was when winning over the mile.

Taken out for a spin, Hero was in his element, clocking 39.8sec for the 600m. 

Indeed, the consensus from those at trackside was that Hero looked sharp and very fit.

But this is not a beauty contest and looks count for little. So, there are more questions that will surely be asked as we mull over the entries for that 2,000m race.

Like, can Hero do the trip?

So far, his three wins have been over the much shorter 1,400m and 1,600m. 

Come Sunday, it will be the first time Hero will be going over that long trip.

Then there is the weight that trainer Tim Fitzsimmons’ galloper will have to tote.

It is a crushing 58.5kg. That is more than he has carried in each of his nine starts.

Will that load weigh him down?

Well, we know that in this sport it is often said that “weight can stop a train”.

Yes the 58.5kg is a burden but Hero is a big boy – tipping the scales at 550kg-plus.

Still, he will be giving weight to others – and that could make the difference.

One of those who gets into the race with just 54kg is Great Expectation. He, too, appears to be in rattling form.

From Stephen Gray’s yard, the four-year-old also impressed, running the 600m in 39.4sec.

However, and unlike Hero, Great Expectation can – as they say – stay until the cows come home.

He was second over Sunday’s trip, going down to Luck Of Master after trying to make all the running in late February.

In his next outing a month later, he showed fighting qualities when coming from third spot at the turn to score a narrow win over the 1,800m with A’Isisuhairi Kasim astride.

He had an easy trial last week, which saw him run third behind Dancing Light.

Coming a month after that win, it would have served to “trim the fat”.

Coupled with his work on the training track, it could be safe to say that Great Expectation could be the one best suited to Sunday’s track and trip.

Zandon is Kentucky Derby 3-1 favourite

LOS ANGELES (-AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE) - Blue Grass Stakes winner Zandon will start as the favourite in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, after securing a favourable barrier.

Bookmakers have priced him at 3-1, after drawing Gate 10 in the 20-horse “Run for the Roses” at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Derby formally kicks off US racing’s Triple Crown season. 

Zandon emerged as the Kentucky Derby favourite after an impressive victory in the Blue Grass at Lexington, Kentucky, last month. It was the three-year-old’s second victory from four outings. 

“Sometimes your race can be won and lost just in the draw,” said Zandon’s trainer, Chad Brown.

“We’re relieved, we’re where we wanted to be and where the jockey wanted to be.

“We wanted to be somewhere in the middle, and you can’t get any better in the middle than 10.”

Brown said Zandon had settled in Kentucky in the weeks since his victory at Keeneland, and had looked sharp in trackwork this week. 

“The horse is training great. He’s coming off his best career race in the Blue Grass and he’s been in Kentucky for some time now. So he should be settled in at Churchill nicely,” he said.

Zandon will be ridden by French jockey Flavien Prat, who is chasing his second victory in the Kentucky Derby, after his win in the chaotic 2019 race. 

Maximum Security crossed the line first in the Derby three years ago, but Prat’s Country House was subsequently declared the winner after Maximum Security was disqualified.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence working with him,” Brown said of Prat. “He’s really delivered for us in some big races in the short time we’ve been working together.” 

Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter is the 7-2 second favourite. He is drawn in Gate 3.

“Like every horse in the race you want him to just make a nice smooth trip away from there and let the best horse win,” said Epicenter’s trainer, Steve Asmussen.

“This is going to be new for him – 20-horse field, 150,000 people staring at him. But Epicenter’s very confident right now, training really well, and it’s a wonderful chance to win the Derby.”