Stick around for King Of War
Wide gate is only question mark for trainer James Peters' last-start winner
You've heard it said. Good things come to those who wait.
Well, let's test it out at the races today.
I reckon, on this first Tuesday night of racing in Singapore, there's a real good thing on the eight-race card.
But, to get in on the action, you have to do the un-Singaporean thing of leaving the party early to beat the jam.
Instead, you have to wait around until the last race which is slotted to "go" at 10.20pm.
That's when King Of War takes on a Class 4 field in that interesting 1,200m sprint.
A last-start winner - and at only his sixth start - King Of War is a stylishly-bred four-year-old who went under the hammer for about $780,000.
Well-schooled in the ways of racing before being flown out here, the chestnut was off the board just once in five starts before he opened his Kranji account in a 1,400m race in mid-November.
The winning margin was just half a length but the manner in which he carved it out was the thing which impressed.
Held in third spot by jockey William Pike, it was only deep in the straight that horse and rider mounted a challenge on the two in front of them - Paragon Star and Race For Fame.
They had no answer. He gobbled them up to win going away from Paragon Star, who took Race 4 on Sunday.
More than anything, that victory made up for that loss earlier that month when, ridden by Michael Rodd, he was baulked for a run and had to check in third.
Now that he has broken through, I reckon the James Peters-trained runner will stamp his authority on his rivals in tonight's last race.
The only thing working against him is his gate. He will have to jump from the second outermost chute.
Still, his work coming into this has been good and Rodd will give him every chance in the running.
So, stick around.
Watch the action unfold and, hopefully, collect on this talented galloper.
That train out of Kranji station will wait for you.
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