Tributo earns the thumbs up at trials

Tributo went under the hammer for a six-figure sum as a yearling, but the expensive import has already started to pay for his board and lodging at trainer Stephen Gray’s spread.

Still a “youngster” at four, he has had five starts at Kranji and, on all occasions, he made the board.

But his claim to fame was that last-start showing on March 18.

That day, on the grass and over the 1,200m, he beat a bunch of talented Maidens in fine style.

Among those he put to the sword were recent winners Schneider and Star Glory.

Both went on to win in stylish fashion, which says a lot for Tributo’s potential.

Well, Gray must also have big plans for him. And why not?

From the way he took apart his rivals to post his maiden win, Tributo showed us that talent was not in short supply.

And we saw that again at the trials on Tuesday morning.

Partnered by Manoel Nunes in the third of the day’s four trials, he faltered at the start and, on settling in the back stretch, he was last in the field of five.

But he did not stay there for long.

Clearing the 600m marker, the son of Capitalist had overtaken a couple of runners and was third when they straightened.

All the while, Creative Dreams – the mount of in-form Simon Kok – was dictating terms and he seemed to have it all under control.

And Sacred Judgement, with Benny Woodworth atop, joined in the fray at the furlong mark and it was a line of three in that dash to the finish.

That was where we saw Nunes and Tributo at their best.

The four-time Singapore champion jockey asked his mount for an effort and, like all good horses, Tributo responded and got his head down where it mattered most.

The winning margin over Sacred Judgement was a head, with Creative Dreams another short head away in third spot.

Tributo ran the 1,000m trip in 1min 00.40sec.

Nunes would have been pleased. So, too, Gray.

Tributo is still a work in progress. Expect to see him become the punters’ pal when he next goes to the races.

Nunes was on another good one in Trial Two.

His mount, City Gold Friend, did not win that hit-out. He was beaten by a good one in Donna Logan’s newcomer King Gee.

But his was a solid showing and it will be interesting to see how he fares in his first Kranji race start on Sunday.

Should trainer David Kok keep him in the event, which is an Open Maiden sprint over 1,200m, City Gold Friend deserves plenty of thought when you are at the betting window.

In that barrier trial on Tuesday, City Gold Friend looked like he was going to take the scenic route home.

He had just two behind him until he began firing at the furlong mark.

By then, King Gee had the leap on his rivals and he went on to score by 2½ lengths.

But City Gold Friend was the one doing his best work late.

For his effort, we saw him pip the veteran Green Star for second spot.

King Gee clocked 1:00.85 for the trip while City Gold Friend completed the journey in 1:01.24.

Another newcomer to keep an eye on is Twinkle Twinkle.

From rainer Leslie Khoo’s yard, this two-year-old won his trial with a front-running effort.

Ridden by Amirul Ismadi, he claimed the lead on settling and never gave it up.

Diaz, from Tim Fitzsimmons’ yard, did put a dent into that lead when he eye-balled Twinkle Twinkle at the 200m.

But the youngster held his nerve to prevail by a nostril.

It was Twinkle Twinkle’s second win at the trials.

He won his first hit-out on March 28, beating Narzar by 4½ lengths.

Yes, with natural progression, Khoo could have a “little star” in the making.

No Ace, Star the Sabah wildcard

After Sabah Ace brought up the three-from-three in February, his enthusiastic owners from the Royal Sabah Turf Club could book their air tickets for the big date on April 8.

The unbeaten son of Swiss Ace should be among the leading hopes in the first leg of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge.

The East Malaysians love their racing and never fail to show up in droves at Kranji whenever they have a feature runner.

Their trainer David Kok will also make sure other horses in the yellow and red silks line up that day. On several occasions, the likes of Lord Justice, Win Win and Sabah Ace have saluted on those special days, and not necessarily in the main event itself.

But two weeks after Sabah Ace’s win, Kok delivered the bad news. Sabah Ace had hurt himself in a freak accident – the 3YO series was out.

The first leg, the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1,200m), was won by Donna Logan’s January.

“Sabah Ace was just walking around the saddling area at the stables when he suddenly went off and hurt himself. He’s always been naughty,” said Kok.

“He had some skin abrasions on both his front legs. It was pretty bad but, luckily, there was no fracture or torn ligaments.

“It’s still not fully healed. So I decided to pull him out of the 3YO series as it’d be too rushed.”

All was not lost, though.

Two weeks later, Sabah Star, their original stable banner, who had not found the line in nearly a year, suddenly popped up again.

The RSTC’s Kranji party will roll on after all. Kok decided to run the Pins six-year-old in Sunday’s $150,000 Group 2 EW Barker Trophy (1,400m), complete with “extras” on the undercard, of course.

The confidence level may not be as high as it would have been with Sabah Ace but, in his defence, Kok said the recent run of defeats had nothing to do with ability, but footwear malfunction.

“Sabah Star is always losing a shoe, left or right. That’s how he loses his races,” he said.

“His hooves are different from other horses. They’re very small and the nails need to be driven in with high precision.

“Either they hurt him or they are not put in properly and the shoe will come off.”

Running shoeless is one thing but the bare reality is that Sabah Star is, literally, still punching above his weight.

“He’s got a small weight but, even at the weights, he is disadvantaged. On ratings, he should be carrying 44.5kg but he’s got the minimum weight of 50kg,” said Kok.

“But the horse is very fit. His form never turns off.”

One setback that Kok is still grappling with is the loss of premiership’s second-placed jockey Wong Chin Chuen as the rider.

“CC was meant to ride him, and even trialled him last week (April 13), but he was suspended for two days on Sunday,” said Kok.

“He could have taken his suspension next week but he decided to serve it immediately.

“We had to look for another jockey. It’s not easy to find a suitable lightweight jockey. We put Amirul (Ismadi) on in the end.

“I personally feel it’s better to have a Cup jockey, especially for a horse running for the first time in a feature race.

“Golden Monkey and Super Salute will be hard to beat but my horse is fit and, with the light weight, a place would be nice.

“The owners are flying in from Sabah but I think their best chances remain Kinabalu Prince and Win Win.” - Michael Lee