Tigress shows fangs in mauling
Freedman's mare shows up at Tuesday's trials
It certainly wasn't the desired debut. She finished dead last - some 20-plus lengths behind the winner, Warrior King.
Then again, she wasn't expected to maul the opposition - even if she did reside in the Lee Freedman barn.
Tigress is her name. And while I'm no expert on the ways of the feline, I will hazard a guess and say that, with most big cats, four months is all that's needed to sharpen those claws.
That, after watching Tigress win her trial at Kranji on Tuesday morning.
By the way, there were just three trials that morning, with the last one reduced to a two-horse affair due to a slew of scratchings.
Forever Young would win that slog, beating Yulong Dream by half a length in 62.51sec.
The opening sprint went to a mare named Emki Empress. Trained by Ricardo Le Grange, she beat Scooter by ½ length in 62.44sec.
Back to the escapades of Tigress who showed up in Trial 2.
Ridden by R Iskandar in that 1,000m hit-out, Tigress was predator personified, stalking the speed set by old-timer Pioneer Seven, River Happiness and stablemate Bangkok Girl.
She stayed last until they straightened. Then, like they do in the wild, she began to pick them off one by one - the weakest first.
River Happiness was the first to be pulled back. Then the filly Bangkok Girl. She was goners the moment she began to get the staggers.
A hundred metres out and nine-year-old Pioneer Seven still wouldn't be cowed by the mare.
So, stride for stride they went. Heads bobbing, they eyeballed each other. Pioneer Seven on the inside, Tigress on his outside.
Champing on the bit and her eyes on the prize, Tigress would win that battle.
Through sheer tenacity, the flighty four-year-old would beat the veteran.
After that debut, the Racing Stewards put the King Power Stable-owned Tigress on notice.
She had to pass a 1,000m gallop before being allowed to race again.
Well, on Tuesday morning she passed that test with flying colours - even if her time of 63.20sec for the 1,000m was blushingly slow.
But a win is a win. All that is to come is for Freedman to present Tigress in a race.
So, we wait...
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