Freedman shows his three Guineas aces
Mr Clint, Mr Dujardin and Super Dynasty work up a storm at Kranji
There was a suggestion of nonchalance when he won his last start.
Content to stay with the plodders in the rear bunch, he made his move just when we thought he had blown it. And why not?
With the leading pack so far ahead, the race threatened to be an exhibition with the $14 favourite Lim's Magic heading the cast. But jockey Daniel Moor, on Mr Clint, wasn't buying it.
Going hell for leather and riding like his life depended on it, Moor spurred his mount into action and, just like that, Mr Clint had rolled to the front.
Game over. The best horse had won. Credit, of course, must go to his trainer, Lee Freedman, who turned out Mr Clint looking like a million bucks.
And more credit to the legendary trainer for getting Mr Clint to hold that winning form for another stab at victory - that, being the $1 million Group 1 Singapore Guineas on Saturday.
Yes, the precocious youngster was looking better than ever before when taken out for a spot of work at Kranji yesterday.
With Moor on the reins, Mr Clint covered the 600m as if in contempt of the clock - running it down in 36.6sec.
It was a strong statement of intent from the three-year-old and since Freedman, more than anyone else, knows what it takes to win a big race, it would be foolish to expect anything less than a power-packed show from this Oscar Racing Stable-owned galloper.
CK Phua, head honcho of the Oscar brand, may look laid back and, at times, even disinterested. But the guy knows his racing, its limitations and its potential for glory.
And, come Saturday, he will be plotting a path to a Guineas quinella. Mr Clint is surely the ace in Phua's pack. But, in Mr Dujardin, he has a No. 2 who could make it a one-two finish.
Mr Dujardin was also out on the training track yesterday and, with Vlad Duric on board, the son of High Chaparral stopped the clock at 36.8sec.
Another one from Freedman's barn, Mr Dujardin has won two from four - both over distances longer than the 1,600m. ButMr Dujardin is far from the finished product and the step-back in trip won't matter that much.
But wait...that's not all. Freedman has yet another hopeful in the $1 million race.
It's Super Dynasty and he too looked in rattling form, running the 600m in 37.7sec under Craig Grylls.
Just a 64-point rater like Mr Dujardin, Super Dynasty is a big horse - tipping the scales in the mid-500kg range. He'll manage the 57kg and his win over Lim's Zoom, over 1,400m last month, puts him right in the frame.
Yes, Lee Freedman has got his horses where he wants them to be. They're ticking and, as everyone in the business must know by now, what Freedman wants, Freedman usually gets.
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