Lightning Fast can strike on Monday

Six starts. Three wins. A second and a third. On average, it cannot get much better than that.

But LIGHTNING FAST isn't interested or bothered by statistics. His is to race. And his is to win.

And yesterday, the showy sort from Desmond Koh's yard "won" one more. Okay, so it was just a trial. But it showed that he has a tremendous engine on him.

The closer he got to the post, the harder he went. On and on, like it wasn't in his nature to get beaten.

Okay, I say again, it WAS just a trial. But it was a really good one and it should serve him well when he takes on the likes of multiple winner Wonderful in Monday's Open Benchmark 83 sprint over the flying 1,100m.

Back to his trial and, it must be said, he won it with some authority.

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Clearing the chute cleanly, his regular jockey CC Wong settled him in fourth spot - away from the bluster up front where AWESOME and THE NUTCRACKER traded blows like it was some kind of KO at Kranji.

A furlong out and The Nutcracker had dismissed the challenge of Awesome. That was when Lightning Fast peeled to the outside and prepared to strike.

A flick of the reins did the trick. Lightning Fast understood what "CC" wanted and he gave it his all - catching The Nutcracker and clearing away to win by half a length. His winning time of 61.34sec was "so-so" by trial standards but it turned out to be the fastest of the day. So, kudos to horse and rider.

To my mind, Lightning Fast is one of those underrated horses plying his trade at Kranji. Honest as the day is long, he's got the temperament and the acceleration of a good horse.

His last two victories were gutsy stuff. At the tail-end of September, he was odds-on to win but he did give his backers some anxious moments when he got bumped soon after the start and later, laid in with the winning post looming up.

But he champed on the bit and came on again to win with some lengths to spare.

Then, last time out in November, he ran a lung-buster, clawing his way back to win by three parts of a length.

Lightning Fast doesn't seem to have problems racing fresh. We saw him come back from a six-week break to win in August last year so this nine-week rest shouldn't be much of a concern.

Another one who impressed from Tuesday's trials was GOLDEN KINGDOM. From trainer John O'Hara's yard, the four-year-old Irish bred blitzed his rivals when winning his trial - which also served as a starting stalls test.

Breaking cleanly, he hit the front after travelling 150m but gave up that lead to JUSTICE GRACE who took the field to the 600m marker.

However, once into the straight, Golden Kingdom shifted gears to draw away from the rest. At the post, he had breathing room of five-and-a- quarter lengths.

Watch him when he next goes to the races. With six starts under his belt, he looks ready to start paying for board and lodging.