Exceed Express leads rivals on a merry chase

He's one of those horses you would love to own and, if I might guess, he must be a pleasure to train.

He's honest, dependable and one who gives his all - be it when at the races or when preparing for it.

Like on Tuesday at the trials.

EXCEED EXPRESS didn't have to exert himself too much to win but, sure as ever, he ran his heart out - leading from go to whoa to clock a thumbs-up 59.53sec for the 1,000m.

Trainer Laurie Laxon and his staff couldn't have asked for more.

Here's how it all panned out. With apprentice Hazman Syafiq given steering duties, Exceed Express cleared the chute without any bother and quickly decided to take control of things.

Although appearing to be fighting for the bit when they made that first turn on the far side, he soon settled and had the others running to his beat.

A clear leader when they hit the 600m marker, he had his nearest rivals, FRIENDSHIP and POLE PARADISE, struggling to mount a challenge.

It never came. Indeed, you could say he had it won at that stage of the trial and even as Syafiq eased him down near the line, his momentum carried him to a fine victory.

Come Race 10 on Sunday, Exceed Express will take on a field of sprinters over the flying 1,000m. While the trip will suit his front-running style, more importantly it will be his second start since returning to Class 4.

By Exceed And Excel, the five-year-old will be most comfortable in that company.

However, where victories are concerned, it's been a long time between drinks. Actually, that last success was light years away - in November of 2014.

But there's still plenty of racing left in that frame and although he meets some capable ones in Lively Dragon, Champagne Rein and Sky Eleven on Sunday, we reckon he will be in it for a long way - if not, all the way.

RATING

Also at the trials, we saw a horse with a rating of 24 turn on the style over the concluding stages to register a nice win.

We're talking about EVERTRUST who came with a blistering run over the concluding stages to leave his rivals stranded. Champion apprentice CC Wong was in the saddle.

Trained by David Hill for Chelsea Stable, Evertrust looked like he was there to make up the numbers in the final trial of the morning.

And it appeared that way when Wong had him parked further than midfield in the early part of the trial.

However, we began to take notice when he moved up to third at the 600m mark.

Then came the "charge". Five horses were in a line at the 200m mark, with Evertrust, carrying 58kg, the widest of them all.

But, he was the most serious of the lot and with 100m to go he burst from the pack and cleared away to win by two-and-a-half lengths.

His time of 61.33sec wasn't too shabby for one who has never really shown us anything at the trials.

So, keep him in mind and the next time you see his name in your racebook. He could pop up at nice odds.