Solid work by debut winners
Gingerella and Winning Hobby light up training track
Two last-start winners appear to be holding form and, come Sunday, could - yet again - prove hard to hold out from the winner's circle.
We're talking about Gingerella and Winning Hobby.
From different yards - Gingerella's with Michael Clements while CT Kuah trains Winning Hobby - both gallopers were standouts on the training track at Kranji yesterday morning.
Gingerella turned on the charm to run the 600m in 37.5sec while Winning Hobby was not extended when running the same trip in 38.8sec.
Both Gingerella and Winning Hobby share another common trait. Both won on debut.
It was on Jan 13 that Gingerella opened her winning account with a comprehensive win over the 1,200m on grass.
Ridden by Vlad Duric, the mare broke cleanly and made it from go to whoa.
If the others in that Novice race were waiting for her to capitulate after romping to the front, it was never going to happen.
And there were some really good ones who jumped with her. They included Fame Star, Federation, Super Dynasty and Gentlemen Agreement.
At least two of them who made up the chasing pack on that January afternoon went on to win in their next starts. They were Lee Freedman's Super Dynasty and Leticia Dragon's Gentlemen Agreement.
But, on the day, they were never going to catch the daughter of a Singapore legend, Gingerbread Man.
She simply kept going and, at the finish, Fame Star was ½ length in arrears while third-placed Gentlemen Agreement was about three lengths back.
Owned by Joe Giovanni Stable, Gingerella was a winner in Australia before being flown out here.
She had, in December 2017, won a 1,216m race at Bunbury, just outside Perth.
She arrived in Singapore last September and, at her first Kranji trial on Dec 27, she put the writing on the wall, toying with the opposition to cruise in by over four lengths in that 1,000m sprint.
She will go on to boost her bank balance and a race-to-race double on Sunday wouldn't surprise.
Winning Hobby was well-trialled before making his debut on Feb 1. And it paid big dividends as the three-year-old came with a well-timed run over the concluding stages to take that Restricted Maiden event by the scruff of its neck.
An American-bred by Congrats, Winning Hobby arrived last July and was given ample time to acclimatise before being sent to face the starter.
He will come up against some nifty ones in that "Novice" sprint on Sunday. Among others, he will have to take on the likes of impressive last-start winner Siam MP, Al-Arabiya Stable's Raheeb and the very consistent Fame Star.
Yesterday, Winning Hobby worked like a good horse works. No bluster. No blather. And, in the form he is in, he will give those "nifty ones" plenty to think about over that 1,200m on the long course.
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