Sydney rider Jay Ford was reunited with star sprinter Takeover Target at Kranji on Friday, combining for a leisurely pacework on the grass track.

“He feels terrific,” said Ford. “He felt very good when I jumped on him and I sure am looking forward to Sunday’s race.”

On his barrier 2, Ford will take it as a plus but would not see the draw as a decisive factor.

“He doesn’t get fazed by barrier draws as he has such natural gate speed,” said Ford. “Having said that, two is better than being drawn wide as we won’t have to do a lot of work.

“He will be somewhere on the speed and the inside draw will give him a soft run.”

Ford, who has ridden Takeover Target in all of his 32 outings bar one (when he ran last) had only one concern, though.

“If there is a query, it has to be the way of going here which is the other way from Sydney. He’s only ever raced twice on a left-handed track,” said Ford.

Ford said Takeover Target took the bend of the short course A reasonably well except he was leaning a little to the outside rails and felt a little “lost”.

“He didn’t change legs but he was a little lost around the bend, but I don’t think there is anything to be concerned about.”

Hands-on trainer Joe Janiak was as usual tending to his precious charge himself after his work.

“He had a trot and canter and went good,” said Janiak as he gave Takeover Target a hose down. “He seems to be settling well but he has not cleaned out his feed bin completely.

“But that’s good in a way as he can afford to lose some of the extra weight.”

His Australian travelling companion Magnus also came out for some light exercise and was given a thumbs-up report by just-arrived trainer Peter Moody.

Magnus, who only arrived from Australia on Wednesday, had a strong canter over two laps of the fibresand.

Moody said the entire was a bit fresh on his first lap but settled well into his work after that.

Moody, who only arrived from Melbourne yesterday, said Magnus had taken no harm from the flight.

“The trip hasn’t touched him at all,” said Moody. “His fluid intake has been good and he’s eaten up.

“His weight is spot on.”

Moody said he would sit down and try to work out a “speed map” for the KrisFlyer to see where Magnus might settle in the run.

The trainer added that if Magnus was to recapture his Group 1 Newmarket Handicap second placing to Weekend Hussler at Flemington in March, then he would prove hard to beat on Sunday.

Perth trainer Darren McAuliffe said his job was finished with Universal Ruler and it was now up to jockey Jason Whiting and the colt.

“He was a lot more settled this morning,” said McAuliffe said after the three-year-old had a trot and canter over two laps of the fibresand.

“He licked his bin out last night and he’s in good form. I couldn’t be happier with how the preparation has gone.”

McAuliffe has spent plenty of time studying tapes of recent races over the 1200m of the KrisFlyer to get a gauge on how the races are run.

“Having watched videos, it doesn’t concern me too much that he’s drawn out wide,” said McAuliffe.

“It looks that a lot of winners can sit off the track in their races.

“He won’t do much tomorrow (Saturday). It’s now all up to “Fish’ (Whiting),” said McAuliffe.

Another Australian handler but now based in Hong Kong was on hand to oversee his horse’s first workout on Friday. Melbourne Cup-winning trainer David Hall arrived in Singapore on Thursday and gave former World’s Best Sprinter Absolute Champion some pacework on the grass track with race-jockey Brett Prebble in the saddle.

“He’s okay. We wouldn’t have put him on the plane if the foot had played up,” said Hall referring to the sprinter’s well-documented hoof abscess in the off-fore.

Absolute Champion was at one point a doubtful starter but was cleared by the Hong Kong Jockey Club veterinary department last week, but hurt his hind leg during the flight when he got stirred up during takeoff.

“He had a tough flight. So I just made him work around the grass just to stretch his legs,” added Hall.

“It was his first time travelling and he has lost a bit of weight.”

The Hong Kong Sprint 2006 winner has drawn in barrier 9, a gate that his trainer saw some positives in.

“At least he won’t be boxed up on the fence. Besides he is a pretty adaptable kind of horse as he has won both by being forward and coming from the back,” said Hall.

Hong Kong’s other KrisFlyer representative Sanziro chalked up his first serious gallop on the grass, prompting a glowing report from track rider Dale Bussey.

“He came up the straight very well over the last 400m,” said Bussey. “I’m very pleased with his work.

“He’s very fit and I can’t fault his form. Today was more to let him stretch out a little.”

British KrisFlyer contender Lovelace did some interval training – 20 minutes of walk and trot, and pacework over two laps of the grass circuit, ticking along nicely until D-day.

“He felt strong and is in good order,” said track rider Andrew Larnach.

Deirdre Johnston, representing her trainer husband Mark Johnston, was also happy enough with Lovelace.

“He’s usually quite laid back and takes things in his stride most of the time, but occasionally he can drop a shoulder, or buck for the hell of it,” she said.

“He got very warm this morning, and I’m not sure if that’s down to the greater humidity here compared with back home, or what.”

“He’s travelled well and has been eating and drinking well since he’s been here,” she said after watching her charge stretch his legs on the turf track in a couple of five furlong canters, before easing down a hundred metres or so short of the wire.

“He’s not got a bad draw in seven, so we’ll see how it all works out.”

United Arab Emirates (UAE) galloper Star Crowned turned in one of the best workouts of the morning.

Working out wide on the course, the entire sped up over the final 1000m of the workout and was timed to run the last 600m in 36.5 seconds out wide on the turf track.

Trainer Rasheed Bouresly said the workout was similar to what the entire would do back home in preparation for a race.

Star Crowned was taken for a walk on Thursday and Bouresly said he assesses the entire on a day-to-day basis as to what work he feels is required.

“It all depends on how he is as to how much work I give him,” said Bouresly. “I look at him and decide from there.”

Bouresly said the KrisFlyer had brought together a high quality line-up.

“They should be all together in the run,” he said. “I expect to see a very good race.

“We have our fingers crossed now.”

Anton Marcus had a familiarisation canter aboard the Aditiyan Selvaratnam-trained Salaam Dubai over a lap of the turf track.

“He felt okay,” said Marcus. “We just cantered around. I was told he was a bit headstrong but he relaxed well for me.”

Capablanca went for a light canter on the fibresand and trainer Don Baertschiger could not be happier with his condition.
(Source: Singapore Turf Club)