Kranji trackwork
Yesterday's Kranji trackwork
Frenchman Olivier Placais, who took a heavy tumble when his mount Ottawa crashed to the turf in Race 5 on Sunday, seemed none the worse from the racing incident when seen at trackwork yesterday morning.
Indeed, Placais was astride two of the better workers on the racecourse and if they bring that form to the races on Friday, they could feature prominently at the finish in their respective races.
Placais took Super Fortune for a 600m spin in a smart time of 35.4sec and was also seen on Basilisk, who covered the same distance in 36.5sec.
On what must surely be his favourite horse - after all, Super Fortune provided him with four winning rides last season - Placais could easily collect another good victory in the Kranji Stakes A sprint over the 1,200m.
Having his first race of the 2018 season, Super Fortune must be a joy to train. And that privilege goes to Alwin Tan.
The champion trainer of 2016 received the horse early last year and quickly knocked off the rough edges so that, by the time Super Fortune made his Kranji debut on July 14, Tan had him as right as a racehorse could be.
Needless to say, he won on debut and quickly made it two on the trot.
By the time October had passed, Super Fortune had three wins from four starts and his fourth victory would quickly follow.
He should have made it five from six on the last day of the season but it was not to be.
A print of the finish showed him going down narrowly to Skywalk.
Like he did last year, Super Fortune should get his 2018 season underway with a grand effort - and what a comeback that would be for Placais.
As for Basilisk, he richly deserves a winning break and it wouldn't surprise one bit if it comes at the expense of his rivals in Friday's Open Maiden over the 1,400m.
Prepared for the races by Leslie Khoo, Basilisk has been working his socks off and it was only last week that he won a trial over the 1,000m.
Since the start of his Kranji career, Placais has kept the faith with this three-year-old and the rewards should come his way sooner rather than later.
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