Winning is his Hobby
Kuah-trained three-time winner is in peak form, looks hard to beat on Sunday
From his record, Winning Hobby has yet to run a bad race.
The Kuah Cheng Tee-trained five-year-old American-bred has had 22 starts for three wins, four seconds, two thirds and four fourths.
Even when he was unplaced, he was rarely far behind the winners. That's how honest he is.
It is evident the bay gelding has hit top form again. He should be the one to beat in Sunday's Race 8 - the $50,000 Class 4 Division 1 event over the Polytrack 1,100m.
After all, his eight rivals do not look particularly strong.
Furthermore, he is helped by a handy handicap and his recent lucky partner - the much-improved apprentice jockey Krisna Thangamani.
Krisna's 2kg allowance will bring Winning Hobby's weight down to only 51.5kg - light enough to see him through throughout.
If bottomweight Mr Showman (50kg) is quicker than him, Winning Hobby can take a seat behind.
Fret not, he is not one-dimensional. He won his debut from a handy spot, while his two later wins were from go to whoa.
Form-wise, Winning Hobby is better than Mr Showman, a one-time winner from 10 starts.
In fact, I was not looking at Winning Hobby as my best bet until he caught my eye in his gallop on Wednesday morning.
Boy, did he go like the wind. He breezed over 600m in a swift 34.9sec. He did not raise a sweat. He pulled up on his toes.
That blew me straight away. It boosted my confidence that the horse is in top condition. It will take a good horse to bring him down.
Back to his race form, Winning Hobby bounced back to the winning list just two starts back on July 25. He was aided by the blinkers, which he will be wearing again.
With Krisna astride, he led all the way over 1,200m on turf in a smart 1min 10.11sec in Class 4 Division 2.
Last start on Aug 15, he and Krisna nearly went all the way over an extra 200m in the same class.
He finished fourth, barely a length from the winner Clarton Treasure.
Take note that he had to cross in from the outer-most barrier (No. 12). Had he drawn better and not had to use up some petrol early, who knows, he could possibly have won.
He is reverting to 1,100m on the Poly - the course and distance of his second victory - and has drawn a not-too-bad Gate 7 on Sunday.
In his current form, I expect him to finish first.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
