A double is possible for Crystal Warrior
Fitzsimmons’ pair of In All His Glory and Den Of Thieves also impress on the training track
Crystal Warrior needed eight runs to bring on a win.
And when it did come, he did it in style, beating Proof Perfect by almost a length over the 1,200m.
But, for trainer Jason Lim and the Crystal Dragon No. 2 Stable, it must have been an agonisingly long wait.
Well, but now that he has broken through, perhaps we will see more wins come his way.
Why not? He seems to be holding that last-start winning form pretty well.
We know that from his work on the training track.
Like yesterday morning. With race-winning jockey Manoel Nunes doing the navigating, Crystal Warrior was in his element.
Never off the bit, he ran out the 600m in a swift 34.8sec. Yes, he broke the 35-second barrier.
Lim would have been pleased. So too Nunes, who is riding like a man possessed.
Remember that five-timer he put together last Saturday?
Well, he is not done yet.
The same can be said about Crystal Warrior.
That win on Feb 19 was a warning. If anything, it served notice of better things to come.
Ridden by Nunes and sent off as a $74 roughie, Crystal Warrior’s show was anything but “rough”.
The Brazilian hoop jumped him cleanly from Gate 6 and they were never headed.
It was so unlike his run on Jan 20 when he again jumped and ran.
But, on that occasion, we saw him swamped by a posse of runners.
He soon gave back the lead, eventually finishing sixth in that sprint won by Limited Edition.
Crystal Warrior is still “just a Class 4 runner”. But he is well bred. His sire is I Am Invincible and he went under the hammer for $370,000.
Indeed, that last win at Kranji was not his first.
Before being flown out here to continue his racing, Crystal Warrior was active in Australia. There, he raced eight times for two wins.
That double was at Eagle Farm and Doomben in Queensland and both times he won over the 1,200m – which is the same distance he will cover on Saturday.
Keep him on your shortlist. He could, pretty soon, be moving up through the ranks.
These days, trainer Tim Fitzsimmons is a man on everyone’s radar.
He saddled a quartet of winners at the meeting just gone by and, everywhere you look, his team seem to be firing.
He has entered nine for the Saturday meeting and, needless to say, punters have already put a target on his back.
Of the nine, two were ultra-impressive on the training track and they could set up a mouth-watering duel in the Class 4 sprint over the 1,400m.
The Fitzsimmons pair were Den Of Thieves and In All His Glory.
Sent out separately, Den Of Thieves had Jake Bayliss in the saddle when clocking 39.2sec while In All His Glory went over the same trip in 38.3sec.
Right now, and on raw ability, it is hard to separate the stablemates.
Both have won races over the sprints. But In All His Glory does seem to have the edge in the fact that he has twice won over the 1,400m.
However, there is a question mark. In All His Glory has not won a race in over a year.
The last time he saluted was in January last year. That day, more than 13 months ago, Oscar Chavez was in the saddle when he beat Federation over the 1,200m.
Still, do not hold it against him.
The way Fitzsimmons is rolling along, In All His Glory and Den Of Thieves could make it a stable queue-up – and nobody will be the least bit surprised.
Yesterday’s Kranji gallops:
CLASS 2 – 1,100M
Entertainer H (K A’Isisuhairi) 39.3.
Darc Bounty H (N Zyrul) 39.
King Arthur H (CC Wong) 38.7.
Siam Warrior H (L Beuzelin) 41.6.
Ararat Lady H 41.4.
Sacred Gift 37.7.
I Am Sacred (I Amirul) 38.3.
MONDAY: Nowyousee (S John) canter/43.8
CLASS 3 – 1,600M
Pennywise (A’Isisuhairi) 36.9.
Savvy Command 38.7.
Ironchamp H (WH Kok) 38.7.
Leatherhead (Zyrul) barrier/35.1.
Iron Ruler 42.7.
Amazing Breeze H 37.3.
Strong N Best (S John) pace work.
MONDAY: Real Success 39.4.
On Line 38.6.
Tangible 38.4.
Safeer (Beuzelin) 36.8.
CLASS 4 – 1,700M
Sun Power H (M Nunes) 35.1.
Cheval Blanc (M Lerner) 41.9.
Green Star 39.4.
Queen Lagertha (I Saifudin) 38.7.
Mesmerizing 41.1.
CLASS 4 – 1,400M
The August 39.8.
In All His Glory H 38.3.
Den Of Thieves H (J Bayliss) 39.2.
Russian Twist H (Beuzelin) 40.6.
Sand Box 38.5.
Buuraq 34.7.
Lucky Imperator 34.6.
Salamence H (John) 36.8.
Royalty (TH Koh) 39.5.
Ricvelo H (Zyrul) 37.9.
St Alwyn (Wong) 39.2.
CLASS 4 (1) – 1,200M
My Dreamliner (John) 34.9.
Crystal Warrior H (Nunes) 34.8.
Proof Perfect (Wong) 43.6.
Sacred Suite (S Shafrizal) 43.8.
Wild Bee 37.8.
Mr Hooper (Saifudin) 37.4.
Free Fallin’ 38.9.
Mr Big Brother 37.7.
Yaya Papaya 44.7.
Yes One Ball (T See) 38.9.
CLASS 4 (2) – 1,200M
Illustrious 40.1.
Universal Empire H (Koh) 44.3.
Super Dynasty (See) 35.8.
Hamama 35.5.
From The Navy H (M Zaki) 37.9.
Big Tiger H (Wong) 39.9.
Charger H 38.3.
Healthy Star (O Chavez) 41.2.
CLASS 5 – 2,000M
Larry H (Kok) 38.7.
Tony’s Love H (D Beasley) canter/36.8.
Grandpa Mick Mac 37.9.
King’s Speech (Beuzelin) 39.8.
Golden Tiger 37.3.
Sir Elton H (A’Isisuhairi) 39.1.
Rock N Roll 39.3.
Cizen Lucky 41.2.
Jupiter Dragon 37.9.
CLASS 5 (1) – 1,200M
Tigarous (T Rehaizat) 40.8.
Super Generous (Koh) 38.6.
Sun Rectitude H 37.6.
Chipmunks (Rehaizat) canter/43.6.
God’s Gift 40.4.
Super Incredible (Nunes) 34.5.
Beer Garden 43.7.
Qiji Auston (Bayliss) 39.2.
Gamely gallop.
MONDAY: Kimitonara (Kok) 40.4.
CLASS 5 (2) – 1,200M
Broadway Success 37.9.
Diamond Ring 40.1.
I’m A Conqueror (Zaki) barrier/35.
See Yah H (Zyrul) 39.2.
Burgundy Lad H 35.8.
Qilin Top Form 38.6.
CLASS 5 (1) – 1,000M
Arion Passion 39.2.
High Water 37.3.
Mister Dynamo 40.1.
Qaidoom 35.4.
Wawasan H (Lerner) 37.5.
Whistle Grand 40.8.
Super Six 36.7.
Per Incrown H (See) 34.8.
CLASS 5 (2) - 1,000M
Our Secret Weapon 38.4.
JK Formidable (Saifudin) 44.7.
Thomas De Lago H (Nunes) 35.8.
My Boss (Shafrizal) 41.9.
Bright Sun 36.9.
Supersonicsurprise (A’Isisuhairi) 35.2.
MAIDEN – 1,000M
Gold Cut H 37.8.
Hex Mark (Zyrul) 44.2.
Victorem (Saifudin) 38.2.
Rusty Rust (See) 39.4.
Tesoro Pirata H (Lerner) 40.1.
City Gate 35.2.
Ninetysix Warrior 35.9.
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