Billy Elliot has all the right moves
Wawasan also impresses on the training track
Billy Elliot and Wawasan.
Pencil their names into that little notebook of yours. The one which you keep to remind yourself of horses to follow.
Then, when Saturday comes, be sure to have a wager on them.
You see, Billy Elliot and Wawasan look to be better than where they are right now. In addition, they definitely seem to be at the top of their game.
We saw that from the way they handled themselves on the training track at Kranji yesterday morning.
Billy Elliot was hardly extended by Vlad Duric when clocking 40.3sec for 600m.
As for Wawasan, he had Oscar Chevez doing the steering when he raced over that same distance in a swift 35.1sec. They were, indeed, the morning's stars.
Trainer Stephen Gray has got Billy Elliot as nimble as a dancer could be. When the four-year-old won on March 27, he danced away from his rivals to score by 11/2 lengths. It was a commanding performance over that 1,400m trip. We are sure Duric was impressed with the horse.
A bargain buy as a yearling at the sales in New Zealand, he arrived unraced on our shores in last September.
He quickly settled into his new surroundings and had his first of three trials on Jan 26. He ran third behind another impressive newcomer Elliot Ness who, just last week, opened his Kranji account in record time.
His second trial in February saw him again run third. That time to Hotshots Slam who, incidentally, won his last start earlier this month.
So, you can tell, there was a load of form coming out of both those trials. Billy Elliot made sure the trend continued - where trial winners win races - when he followed up a trial win with a victory where it really mattered - the racetrack.
Billy Elliot is a horse on the improve. Come Saturday, the track will be his personal ballroom, as he gives his Class 5 rivals a dancing lesson.
As for Wawasan, his last four runs have produced two seconds and two thirds. How much longer must he suffer being second best - or third?
We reckon it will all change over the weekend.
Trainer Desmond Koh, who has been having a good run, has fine-tuned Wawasan to a point where he looks on the cusp of breaking through.
Last time out, in a Maiden race over the flying 1,000m, the four-year-old was shouted the winner halfway down the stretch. But he was mowed down by Our Secret Weapon, who took the race by a narrow margin.
That was three weeks ago.
Earlier, on March 14, when ridden by Wong Chin Chuen, he had to race wide for most of the 1,200m trip. He goes into Saturday's race with everything in order. It is an easy Open Maiden affair over the Poly 1,000m, which suits his style.
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