What's New shines in tip-top trial
The best from the trials on Tuesday morning
So, who stole the show at the trials on Tuesday morning? You want clues? Okay. He (or she) has four legs, was about less than a metre long and had the moves and reflexes of a young Muhammad Ali.
Give up? Well, it was a lizard. A scaly reptile who, during the second trial of the morning, decided that he (or she) needed to make a dash across the Polytrack.
That, he (or she) did, deftly and miraculously avoiding the pounding hoofs of the runners with a zig-zag run which brought him (or her) to the other side - of the track, that is.
Boy, did that little dragon have a tale to tell the rest of the family as they lounged by the waterside that night.
On a more serious note, that trial was eventually taken out by another "Dragon", the Leticia Dragon-trained Star Bullet.
The newbie, who had S John doing the steering, was involved in a ding-dong tussle with JK Formidable over the last 200m with Star Bullet eventually taking the trial by 1/2 length.
Just for the record, JK Formidable who was having a 1,000m gallop as ordered by the racing stewards, failed a vet examination and will be sent back to the trials at a later date.
As for Star Bullet, he did look a nice type and it will be interesting to see how he does on debut.
However, my top equine performer of the morning was What's New who ran second to King's Speech in Trial 3.
Ridden by Michael Rodd, What's New had hit the front at the 250m mark and looked to be scampering away when King's Speech - who was afforded the shortest route home when he elected to hug the rails from the get-go - caught up with her close home to win by 3/4 length.
Still, I reckon, What's New lost no marks in that "defeat". She had done everything right. From clearing the chute to holding her ground before hitting the front close home, only to be caught on the line.
What's New has not raced since July 21 when she ran a gallant fourth behind Sun Marshal in the Singapore Derby which, incidentally, was the third and final leg of the Four-Year-Old Challenge.
She had taken the first two legs in grand style - the Silver Bowl and the Stewards' Cup. But victory in the Derby - which was over the 1,800m - was not to be. Keep an eye on her when she lines up for the Raffles Cup next Sunday. She's nearing her best form.
Centurion and Eastiger, who finished one-two in Trial 4, also caught the eye.
Ridden by Rodd, Eastiger anticipated the start and was soon a length clear of the rest. Together with Centurion (CC Wong), the pair drew away from the pack and when they turned for the run home they had put four lengths to the third horse, One World.
Locked together, they coasted to the line where Centurion got the job done, beating Eastiger by half a length.
Centurion has been a quiet achiever for trainer Tan Kah Soon and has banked in excess of $100,000 from his 17 starts.
Eastiger has been sparingly raced and his last win was in February. Like Centurion, he too seems to have rediscovered his form and they merit plenty of thought when you next see their names in your race programme.
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