Placais gets Aramco going in smart hit-out

Trainer Shane Baertschiger's move to engage lightweight hoop Olivier Placais for his exciting youngster ARAMCO should pay dividends in Race 7 on Sunday.

Indeed, we saw a glimmer of what was to come when the Frenchman took the four-year-old for a spin on the training track yesterday morning.

With stablemate VON KRUMM for company, Aramco was all go, clocking a zippy 36.4sec for the 600m.

Von Krumm is also down to contest the Open Benchmark 83 event on Sunday. Matt Kellady was in the saddle in that testing gallop.

However, come raceday all eyes will be on the three-time winner whose last-start victory was done with plenty of authority.

Obliged to race wide for most of the trip, he was further disadvantaged when his rider, Danny Beasley, lost his whip at the 300m mark.

In such a competitive field, and coming from the rear, any other horse would have thrown in the towel. Not so, Aramco. The four-year-old buckled down and chased everything in front of him.

At the finish, he had put a length on the very-talented Distinctive Darci who was also doing his best work late.

Aramco, who opened his Kranji account on debut in Class 4 in November last year, saw his stock rise when beating Nova Missile on Jan 2.

Sent off as the $10 favourite in an OB 74 1,400m sprint on Jan 20, he hit the front close home but was overwhelmed in the late stages by Ares and then Ode To Joy who took the race with two lengths to spare.

Back to the 1,200m on Sunday, Aramco should be all the rage with Kranji's racegoers. We reckon you should jump on the bandwagon and share in the profits.

Going on his trackwork, MAGSTOCK looks like another youngster who should deliver the goods on Sunday.

Down to contest Race 9, the Cliff Brown-trained four-year-old created a good impression when running the 600m in 37.5sec. He had Michael Rodd in the saddle.

Although he has not visited the winners' circle in eight months, his recent races have shown that he is running back into form and yesterday's hit-out was another indication that he's on track for his fourth career success.

In his first and only start in the 2017 season, Magstock put in a commendable show when third to Gilt Complex in a 1,400m race on Feb 12.

Coming from well back when they straightened for the run home, he made up good ground in the closing stages to be just one-and-a-half lengths behind the winner when they flashed across the line.

On current form, he'll be a serious contender for honours over the mile on the long course.