Jinsha gets Lucky again
Fitzsimmons-trained 4YO defies a promotion to beat fellow last-start winner Special Ops
With his lighter weight and a top ride by Kranji's leading rider, Hakim Kamaruddin, Lucky Jinsha outsmarted fellow last-start winner Special Ops in their anticipated duel on Saturday.
I had made Special Ops my best bet on the belief that he was the classier horse over Lucky Jinsha, who was rising a class in the $50,000 Class 4 Division 2 event over the Polytrack 1,200m.
But the weight difference eventually told, with Lucky Jinsha fending off Special Ops by a neck in 1min 11.84sec. The favourite, he paid $10 for a win.
Trained by the bang-in-form Tim Fitzsimmons, the Lucky Unicorn Stable-owned Lucky Jinsha was down 5kg to 52kg, after Hakim's 2kg claim, from his last-start seven-length victory over the Poly 1,200m in Class 5 on Aug 22.
The Jason Ong-trained Special Ops was up 3kg to 56.5kg from his last-start success on Aug 29, also over the Poly 1,200m. He won in a quicker time, 1min 10.72sec, to Lucky Jinsha's 1min 11.26sec, albeit on different days.
Lucky Jinsha has certainly hit a purple patch. He has three wins and a second from his last four starts. More wins are in store for the vast improver.
His latest victory was full of merit. He was caught wide on the outside of the two leaders, Headhunter and Royalty. He then swung wide at the top of the straight, where he hit the front. Special Ops launched a strong attack in the last 200m but Lucky Jinsha held on resolutely.
From the looks of things, his connections will have plenty of fun with their four-year-old Australian-bred gelding by Shooting to Win.
"He's a horse with plenty of upsides. He can go further and he can handle both turf and Polytrack," said Fitzsimmons.
"It didn't look really pretty today, though. He overraced a bit. I was hoping he'd be behind the two leaders - and then he drifted out in the straight. It was a huge effort to hold on.
"The two horses on the inside wouldn't let him cross. If not for that, he could have won by a bigger margin. I was really rapt with the way he has risen from Class 5 to Class 4."
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