Stage is all set for Commanding debut

Trainer Jerome Tan has boosted his stock and three of his newbies emerged at the trials on Tuesday.

All of them impressed, especially Sacred Command.

With all three runners contesting Trial No. 2, Tan had a good chance to dominate, and that was exactly what he did.

Well, that was what Sacred Command did.

The five-year-old put on wings over the concluding stages of the 1,000m hit-out to beat the Donna Logan-trained Eastiger by a neck.

As for the other Tan triallers, Lucky Baby ran third another head away while Energy Baby ran sixth.

But, on the morning when rain stayed away from the track, it was all about Sacred Command.

With Akmazani Mazuki doing the steering, the son of Epaulette settled in third behind Lucky Baby and Energy Baby for the Tan “trifecta”.

The threesome cleared the 600m as one, with the rest of the five runners strung out behind them.

Into the home stretch and the apprentice got to work.

Asking Sacred Command to raise his game, they went after the leaders and, at the furlong mark, it was “job done” for horse and rider.

Sacred Command had the trial all neatly wrapped up and although his time for the sprint was just 1min 01.30sec, it was decisive.

Yet to face the starter in an actual race at Kranji, Sacred Command knows all there is to know about this racing game.

Until taking up residence at Tan’s barn, the New Zealand-bred had a fine career in Australia.

Trained by Chris Waller of Winx fame, he scored three wins Down Under with his last victory on July 6, 2022.

That day at the Sandown Lakeside racecourse, he won a 1,400m race on a soft track with Brett Prebble in the saddle.

Last time, before being flown here, he was fourth in a race over 1,550m. Hugh Bowman was on the reins. That was on Aug 17.

Yes, Sacred Command is not a greenhorn. He knows the game and knows that the only place that matters on a racetrack is the finish.

He has, so to speak, been there and done that. So watch him at his Kranji debut. He looks good to go.

From the same trial we saw a good showing from the Jason Ong-trained Healthy Baby.

Ridden by Manoel Nunes, he was a tad slow to get into stride. But, taking the scenic route home, he soon gobbled up the ground and the opposition to finish fourth.

The best that Healthy Baby has done so far from six starts has been a fourth on Sept 24. He can do better than that.

Also from the trials, we saw Mimosas come good.

A four-year-old newcomer to Tim Fitzsimmons’ yard, he was having his second trial in 2023 and it was a winning one.

Partnered by Nunes, who also rode him in his first trial on Jan 25 when he ran last to stablemate Typhoon, Mimosas came on from a deep midfield spot at the 600m mark to slash through the field over the concluding stages.

He eventually took the trial by three-quarter lengths and in 1min 01.70sec.

Until being sent here to continue his racing, Mimosas raced five times for two wins in Victoria.

He won at his last start. With leading jockey Jamie Kah up, he won a 1,100m race at Pakenham.

Like Sacred Command, Mimosas could have a bright future at Kranji.

Watch for him when Fitzsimmons sends him out for his first Singapore race.