Trainer's sole entry goes for Hole In One

Le Grange’s charge works extremely well under Duric, looks set to score second win

Mar 14, 2023 10:50 pm

Five winners spread over the first 10 meetings of the year. Not great. Especially by his high standards.

But nothing really wrong there. The Singapore Gold Cup-winning Ricardo Le Grange is slowly getting into his rhythm.

We saw the yard pull off a win on Sunday, when Sayonara beat a Class 5 field over the 1,800m.

That was when he was represented in just three of the 12 races on the card.

Well, Le Grange has entered just one runner for Saturday’s action and, if you pardon the pun, it could be a Hole In One.

No, we are not talking about golf.

It just so happens that Hole In One, the horse, was one of the star performers on the training track on Tuesday morning.

And, if he carries that form into Saturday’s races, it could signal a second hurrah for the horse and a sixth for Le Grange this season.

Taken out for a serious gallop by Vlad Duric, Hole In One ran out the 600m trip in 37.2sec.

It left little to the imagination.

The three-year-old by Spieth is in rattling form and he could make that Novice event his own.

A rising star among Kranji’s rich crop of juveniles, he already has a win to his credit and has only once been placed outside of the top three.

That, too, was unfortunate.

Hole In One encountered traffic problems at a crucial point during that race on Nov 5 and had to settle for fifth.

He would go on to win his next start, which happened to be the final day of the 2022 racing season.

And it was not a “shoo-in” type of contest.

Hole In One was up against some young hotheads like Popeyethesailorman, Taling Pling and Charmshaab, among others.

No worries. He showed them a clean pair of hooves, romping in by almost three lengths over the 1,200m trip on grass.

Since then, Le Grange sent him out for two more races for a second on Jan 23 and third on Feb 18.

Hole In One looks to be the real deal.

He comes up against some really nippy ones in that 1,400m race on the weekend, but Le Grange has him in a good place right now and we should see him run a bold race.

One entry. One winner.

Possible? Why not?

Well, a runner who could make things interesting and, maybe even, spoil the Le Grange party is April.

He had Simon Kok entrusted with the reins when he ran the 600m in 36.1sec.

From Stephen Gray’s yard, April has been a good horse to have in the barn.

A two-time starter in the colours of the Falcon Racing No. 7 Stable, April gets into Saturday’s action on the back of a good victory over Tantheman.

That was on Feb 25 and the winning margin over the 1,400m was a nose.

But he did it the hard way, having to travel wide and without cover for most of the trip.

A three-year-old New Zealand-bred by Swiss Ace, April will enjoy Saturday’s conditions and he could give a horse like Hole In One plenty to think about.

Elsewhere on the 12-race card, Silent Is Gold and Prioritize could give Gray’s yard two more reasons to bring out the bubbly.

The pair worked together, running out the 600m in 36sec.

Silent Is Gold will contest the hotly competitive Class 3 sprint over the 1,200m, while Prioritize has bottomweight of 50kg in the Class 4 race over the 1,700m event on the synthetic surface.

Both Gray’s runners are in good enough condition to win their respective races.

Prioritize was a winner over the 1,700m on Jan 28. That was in Class 5. Sent up to Class 4, he ran third to Lim’s Puncak Jaya on Feb 25.

That was over the 1,600m. He will appreciate the extra 100m and the featherweight he has to carry.

As for Silent Is Gold, he already has three victories and his last-start third behind Super Salute was an awesome effort, as he finished less than a length behind the winner.

Gray has saddled six winners for the season and has entered a strong team of 11 for the upcoming meeting.

Among others, Prioritize, Silent Is Gold and April could help boost his stock considerably.