Aotearoa's size does not matter

She may be one of the smallest horses at Kranji but AOTEAROA (Race 3 tomorrow) does seem to have a big heart.

Weighing only 407kg for her debut on Jan 6, the Laurie Laxon-trained three-year-old filly overcame a wide barrier to score a smart victory over the Polytrack 1,200m. It is not easy for a newcomer to win first-up over 1,200m on the alternative track, let alone a tiny horse like her, but Aotearoa did it with aplomb.

The horse she beat, Sacred Army, has gone on to garner two more seconds and a last-start success.

Aotearoa faced another big hurdle second-up, but the big-hearted galloper gave another good performance with a fourth to unbeaten Countofmontecristo, who clocked a swift 1min 09.64sec.

"The Count" is now one of the top fancies in tomorrow's Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-old Sprint over 1,200m.