Cairo looks to be in a hurry

Giving weight to all his rivals, it would be cruel to blame CAIRO for not winning his last start.

Then, when you take into account the fact that it was his first run after an 11-month break, that third-place behind Kratos on Aug 13 was huge.

Yes, aside from the fact that he probably needed that run, the five-year-old didn't do much wrong.

And if it didn't top him up sufficiently for his next assignment, his showing at the trials on Tuesday morning would have done the trick.

Ridden by Nooresh Juglall, Cairo jumped clean and found the front without much fuss or fanfare. He led them to the first turn, cruising along on what seemed a long rein. Ghost tried to hunt him down.

Alas, while the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak.

At the 600m mark, with the leader being a speck in the distance, the chasing pack couldn't feel the dirt being thrown back at them.

Indeed, had Juglall looked back, he would have seen an eternity of daylight. As for Cairo, he headed for the post - looking stronger with every stride.

Meanwhile, Ghost had faded away and Winning Tango, so prominent early, had thrown in the towel.

It was left to Mr Scorsese to make a race of it.

He had been stalking the speed all the way but, unluckily for him, the leader had stolen an unsurmountable lead.

It was "game over" and the rest of them knew it.

While sparingly-raced, this was Cairo's second trial win in three weeks and, while his time of 60.29sec for the 1,000m wasn't as swift as the 59.83sec he clocked on Aug 3, it was still full of merit.

Trainer Tan Hor Khoon has been patient with this son of Tycoon Ruler and the rewards could come sooner rather than later.

FORESTO

Also on Tuesday, I liked the way FORESTO finished off his trial.

Well out of it early, he was second last on straightening.

But a flick of the reins by Michael Rodd shook him out of his coma, and he began to race.

By then, Good Lucky was home and hosed and would win the trial by three-and-a-half lengths. But Foresto was the one grinding up the straight like an honest brawler.

From being behind Libeccio at the turn, Foresto had, at the finish, beaten Libeccio out of sight.

So, forget about Foresto's debut where he beat just two home.

That one's best consigned to the waste bin. But take note when he next goes to the races.

On Tuesday morning, and over that final stretch, I thought I saw in Foresto the hard eye of a contender.