Thunder will roll on Saturday

With the weather being anything but predictable, a rumble from above followed by a shower isn't all that rare. So it was three weeks ago, when Thunder came roaring down the stretch to smother all and sundry, it was like a sign.

Trainer Tim Fitzsimmons had a hot one in his yard.

Well, Thunder hasn't stopped making a noise. Indeed, he could get even louder - if his work on the training track is anything to go by.

Sent out for a gallop in preparation for his assignment on Saturday, Thunder caught the eye when running the 600m in 39.7sec.

While there was nothing flashy about that piece of work, it was an honest endeavour - much like the manner in which he won at his last start.

That day, on Jan 23, Fitzsimmons went with veteran rider I Saifudin - and it paid off.

The 50-year-old jockey showed the younger riders a thing or two with a well-timed come-from-behind win.

Indeed, Thunder was unsighted when the field flattened out for that run home. But Saifudin timed his run perfectly and prevailed by a shorthead.

It was tight but it was good enough to suggest he could go on to win more races.

Yes, it took him 12 starts to finally break through. But, that was over the 1,400m and, with improvement already showing, he could be a big chance over the 1,600m on Saturday.

Another last-start winner from Fitzsimmons' yard who made an impression on the training track was Tsurian.

He had Marc Lerner in the saddle when running the 600m in 37sec.

Another one from the northern hemisphere, Tsurian has been a dogged campaigner and a regular moneyspinner for Fitzsimmons who, incidentally, owns the Irish-bred.

However, Fitzsimmons had to be really patient with the eight-year-old.

Until he greeted the judge at his last start on Jan 30, Tsurian had been winless for 14 months.

Yes, patience sure does pay off and, while the chestnut is getting long in the tooth, he is still keeping the cash register ringing out a merry tune.

The Australian handler has found a nice race for his old campaigner.

The 1,800m will suit and, come Saturday, Tsurian will be the one powering home at the business end of things.

To complete a training trifecta, Fitzsimmons' youngster Ben Wade gave an indication that a win would come sooner rather than later.

Ben Wade had the services of John Powell when galloped over the 600m in 38.1sec.

He bears watching in the Open Maiden sprint over 1,200m.

BEASLEY'S BACK

While a 10-race programme always generates plenty of interest, there will be a familiar face returning to the racing scene - and in a role he is best suited for.

He's Danny Beasley. Having "retired" from the riding ranks in 2017 to take up a position of assistant trainer with Dan Meagher, come Saturday, he will return as a senior jockey.

His licence is valid for the rest of the 2021 season.

Now a 45-year-old, Beasley had for 11 years - with a break in 2015 - ridden with success in Singapore.

His win tally at Kranji stands at 528. In total, he has ridden more than 2,000 winners - including 14 Group One races in Australia.

Among the big ones was the Golden Slipper which he won courtesy of Polar Success.

In Australia, he won 14 Group 1 races in 15 years, headed by the Golden Slipper with Polar Success.

Then there was the Doncaster Handicap and Queen Elizabeth Stakes with Grand Armee and the Newmarket Handicap with Miss Pennymoney.

His best Singapore season came in 2014 when, besides finishing runner-up to Manoel Nunes on 83 winners, he made a clean sweep of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge with War Affair.

Beasley last rode in a competitive race on Singapore Derby day on July 9, 2017 when he signed off on a winning note with a double on Dream Comes True and Kolombia, both for his main supporter, Meagher.

He was sitting third on the Singapore jockey's premiership on 35 winners when he left.

Still lean and mean, he goes to the scale at 52kg.