Boomba’s all flash and fire
Tim Fitzsimmons' galloper tops the trackwork sheets
There is something special about that horse, Boomba. And his owners, the Barree Stable, must be anticipating having a load of fun with the youngster.
Maybe, in him, they see shades of their former champion, the great Debt Collector.
While it is way too early to start make comparisons, Boomba has already displayed positive signs.
With just four starts under his girth, he has put together two wins and a third. And they have not been in "ordinary" races.
More about that later. For now, let us focus on what is ahead for this exciting three-year-old. On the horizon, we see that his trainer Tim Fitzsimmons has pencilled him in for a Class 4 sprint on Saturday.
In preparation for that assignment, Boomba was on the training track at Kranji yesterday morning and, needless to say, he did everything right.
With Frenchman Marc Lerner doing the steering, Boomba disposed of 600m in 37.3sec, finishing full of running. It was an eye-catching piece of work from a horse who does not really shine in his build-ups to his races.
Indeed, the best we have seen of him at the trials was when he ran second to Day Approach in a hit-out just last Tuesday.
He, sure as ever, saves his best for when it really matters - the races.
Take his last-start win. There was nothing flashy in his build-up to that Golden Horseshoe sprint on Dec 5.
But, once he sensed the atmosphere, you should have seen him go. Jumping from Gate 13 in that 15-horse contest, jockey Ruan Maia settled him in fifth and released him only over the final 200m.
He charged home, fighting all the way to beat Infinite Wisdom for the prize.
Saturday's sprint will be Boomba's first race in the new season and in the form that he is in, it could be his first of a string of successes in 2021.
That sprint aside, the Class 3 race over the mile is shaping up to be an exciting showdown.
By today's standards, it has attracted a small field of 11 runners. But there is quality in the line-up and yesterday morning, clockers saw three of the contenders being put through their paces.
They were Dancing Rain, Asaad and Whistle Grand.
Dancing Rain clocked 39.7sec for the trip while Asaad and Whistle Grand stopped the clock at 39.3sec and 26.5sec respectively
Whistle Grand, who was ridden by jockey Zyrul Nor Azman, did a spot of cantering before completing his sprint.
The thing about these three runners is the fact that they all finished on board at their last starts.
Trained by James Peters, Dancing Rain ran second to Wind Trail in an 1,800m race 12 days ago. Asaad's brave front-running effort fizzled out over the concluding stages of a 1,700m race and he settled for third in the race won by Kinabalu Warrior in early February.
From trainer Leslie Khoo's yard, Whistle Grand charged home from last to run fourth to Prosperous Return in a 1,400m affair on March 27.
All three appear to be in sparkling form. Come Saturday, they could dominate the betting and the finish of that 1,600m race.
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