Nature Chief goes for two on the trot

Like they say, when you are hot, you are hot.

Jason Ong, Singapore champion trainer in 2023 and runaway leader in the new season, just keeps boiling over.

Sure, it helps when you have a yard that is brimming with talent.

And Ong does seem to have just that. Winners have been coming in their numbers.

Three on a “normal” day. Four when he revs things up and five a day when he decides to turn the screws.

Okay. So, the last meeting on Feb 24 did not pan out as expected for Ong, his team and his throng of followers.

He had sent out a fistful of runners but came away with just one victory – appropriately named Wins One.

This was after he sent out two five-timers at the preceding two meetings.

Well, if you think he has run out of magic dust, you are only kidding yourself.

Ong is going to bounce back – and in a big way.

He has entered 22 runners for the meeting coming up on March 2.

They are spread over 10 of the 11 races for the day and, by his lofty standards, he must be looking at putting together a bumper haul.

As a sneak preview or, as they say in the movies, a “coming attraction”, Ong sent some members of his team for a spin on the training track and they came away looking real good.

Indeed, a “quartet” of those runners just happened to be last-start winners and we could see some of them put together back-to-back victories.

Nature Chief ran out the 600m in 37.1sec. Pacific Charm did it in 41.8, while Silver Dragon and Per Incrown went faster, clocking 36.8 and 36.3 respectively.

Both are seeking a hat-trick of wins.

However, most impressive among them had to be Nature Chief.

He, who beat stablemate Healthy Baby rather handily to make it a Ong quinella on Feb 17, is getting better.

A Kiwi-bred by Time Test, Nature Chief did the short and sharp 600m gallop rather spiritedly and, right now, he certainly looks to be in a good place.

Sure, you could argue that Nature Chief’s last win was against Class 5 rivals and, come Saturday, he must step up his game when he takes on Class 4 opposition.

Yes, the fluency of that last win did not go unnoticed and the powers that matter decided that Nature Chief deserved a promotion.

Will it bother the youngster? Maybe.

After all, he comes up against some nice horses who could put him to a test.

Outstanding among the opposition appear to be Eruption and trial-winning newcomer Chosen.

They, too, were out on the training track and they trotted off looking good after clocking 41.6 and 40.2 respectively.

They have tossed their hats into the ring and it will be up to Nature Chief to cut them down to size.

Right now, Ong’s runner scores high marks in consistency.

He is just a four-year-old who appears to be improving with every run and, on form, he should pass this Class 4 test with high marks.

Per Incrown and Pacific Charm will cross swords in the Class 4 Division 1 sprint over the 1,200m and they could fight out the finish.

Both gallopers won their last two starts rather impressively and Ong has them shooting for three on the bounce.

Only one will get that hat-trick – unless, of course, there is the unlikely situation of a stablemate deadheat.

But would it not be something to savour?

Well, do not scoff at the idea. Stablemates can fight out the finish and, with Ong’s pot boiling over, it could happen.

Wait. That is not all. Ong still has Silver Dragon.

Another last-start winner, he also must overcome a promotion and leave his mark in Class 4 company.

Can he do it? Well, Silver Dragon is certainly a youngster going places.

He went under the hammer for $90,000 as a two-year-old and has already begun to pay back that purchase price.

From his seven Kranji starts since arriving on July 23, 2023, Silver Dragon has won two races and there are more where those came from.

Last time, on Feb 17, he came from a long way back to beat Pacific General by a neck.

In the race coming up, he will go over the same track and trip, and there is nothing to suggest he cannot throw in his third career win.

Ong, who has enjoyed 18 successes this season, will certainly be hoping it happens.

brian@sph.com.sg