Strong N Powerful tops the trials

Strong N Powerful - that is quite a name for a horse.

Can you imagine if he turned out to be a wimp?

There would have been no end to the sniggers and brickbats from his mates in the yard.

Luckily for him, Strong N Powerful has lived up to his tag.

Thanks to his trainer Leticia Dragon, he has so far put together four wins, two seconds and four thirds in just 12 outings.

That is just two outside the top three.

In my book, that is licence enough for him to strut around the Dragon yard.

And to think, Strong N Powerful is not done yet.

There is plenty of racing and certainly more victories in store for him.

If his connections - the Strong Stable - need more assurance, they have only to look at his showing at the trials on Tuesday morning.

Taken out by Juan Paul van der Merwe, it looked from the get-go that Strong N Powerful was out for a morning stroll.

There he was, last of the lot, when the runners made that first turn on the far side.

When the field straightened for the run home, he was still in last spot.

But, just when all attention was on JR Malone - the mount of apprentice jockey Ng Choon Kiat- and Big Hearted (Ruan Maia), van der Merwe began to fashion a run for his mount.

Taking Strong N Powerful to the extreme outside, he pressed the launch button.

Strong N Powerful did not need a second invitation. Stretching his legs, he came charging down the track.

Eating them up just as fast as a drunk would down a beer, he caught the stragglers, beat them to a pulp. As the finish line beckoned, he collared JR Malone to win by a neck.

It was not the fastest of times - 61.27sec - but he was never out to beat the clock.

Strong N Powerful is one of those horses - if not respected - could bite you in the pocket.

His last two races were high-class events. Both times, he made the board: second in the Group 2 Singapore Classic and third in the Group 1 Singapore Guineas.

Who won those races? A certain fella named Inferno, who will probably start as favourite in Sunday's $400,000 Group 1 Lion City Cup .

Also at Tuesday's trials, we saw a good run from Minhaaj.

Ridden by Mohd Zaki, the four-year-old took the final trial of the morning in menacing fashion.

He beat the Dragon-trained Rumble by almost 41/2 lengths. Gnothi Seauton (Maia) was third, a further half-length away.

His time for the 1,000m was 60.68sec.

A winner in August last year, he seems to have found a new purpose since the Covid-19 lockdown was lifted.

Trainer John O'Hara sent him to the races three times. On all three occasions, he picked up cheques.

The most sizeable came when Minhaaj won his last start - the Better Than Ever Stakes - on Sept 26. There could be more coming.