SINGAPORE AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL CUP
DAN EXCEL (HK) and MILITARY ATTACK (HK) – Barriers No 1 & 4
“We have two horses coming here that are coming out of winning Group 1 races back home so they have to be a chance,” said trainer John Moore.
“They are very good draws for both horses and both will be handy to pace in the run.
“Dan Excel sat on the speed when winning the Champions Mile and Military Attack has got the tactical speed to lay-up and he’s got a kick as well plus he also has Zac (Purton) who is riding on a wave at the moment.
“With the two good draws it will now be up to the jockeys as they are on two fit horses.”
Hong Kong trainer John Moore had the luck of the draw with Dan Excel (1) and Military Attack (4).
He is seen here with Turf Belles (left to right) Jing Ting, Xue Qi, Jojo and Carrie at the Post Position Draw.
MAWINGO (SG) – Barrier No 2
“It’s obviously a good draw for him,” said trainer Michael Freedman. “It gives him the chance to tuck away with plenty of cover and get a soft run.
“I’m sure (jockey) Hughie (Bowman) will be able to give him a great ride from there.”
READY TO STRIKE (SG) – Barrier No 3
“That is a lovely draw,” said trainer Laurie Laxon. “He won’t have to expend too much energy early in the race.
“Joao (Moreira) should be able to give him a nice smother up and leave plenty for the finish.”
FLAX (SG) – Barrier No 5
“It’s a perfect draw for him. Dan Excel is the speed horse and he has drawn one and I’m glad he’s on my inside,” said jockey Jose Verenzuela.
“I will just take a sit behind him and let him lead us into the race. It will be like in the Raffles Cup when I used the same tactics.”
BETTER LIFE (SG) – Barrier No 6
Trainer Hideyuki Takaoka gave a little fist-pump after jockey Alan Munro drew barrier 6.
“It is right where I wanted to draw,” said Takaoka. “It is the middle of the draw and gives her every chance.”
Race jockey Alan Munro agreed.
“That draw gives us the chance to follow a forward horse and get into a good position,” said Munro. “It’s the perfect draw for her.”
Jockey Alan Munro seemed more interested in his gift-box than drawing barrier No 6 for Better Life.
RED CADEAUX (UK) – Barrier No 7
“Happy enough with seven,” said assistant-trainer Robin Trevor-Jones. “I was actually hoping for anything between four and six.
“But I’ll take seven. It’s not too far off. Can’t really complain, can I?”
Ed Dunlop's assistant-trainer Robin Trevor-Jones looks unimpressed with barrier No 7 for Red Cadeaux.
MULL OF KILLOUGH (UK) – Barrier No 8
“First, I will have to go and find out who goes forward and who comes from off the pace as I don’t know much about the form of the locals,” said trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam.
“Anyway, he’s a versatile horse. He can be on the pace or off the pace.
“It could have been worse. As long as we didn’t draw anything more than 10, we’re happy.”
LIZARRE (SG) – Barrier No 9
“He’ll go forward but he won’t have to be in the first three,” said trainer Patrick Shaw. “We can leave that up to (jockey) Barend (Vorster), but midfield should be fine.”
HUNTER’S LIGHT (UAE) – Barrier No 10
“It’s a bit wide, I would have preferred somewhere in the middle,” said travelling foreman Richard Corona.
“But we’re happy with whatever we’re dealt with and we’ll just leave it to (jockey) Silvestre (de Sousa) now.”
PASTORIUS (GER) – Barrier No 11
“It doesn’t really matter. Pastorius has won the German Derby from the outside, which was barrier No 15,” said trainer Mario Hofer, shrugging his shoulders.
“No problem at all. It’s okay.”
MEANDRE (RUS) – Barrier No 12
“He will still push forward as we originally planned,” said trainer Doug Watson. “Hopefully we don’t get caught wide too much.
“We’re here, we’re good, we’re happy. We’ll see what happens.”
DEEP POCKETS (SG) – Barrier No 13
“It didn’t really matter,” said trainer Cliff Brown. “He was always going to go back whether he drew one or 13.
“All we can hope for is that there is a good pace which will enable him to run on.”
KRISFLYER INTERNATIONAL SPRINT
DUX SCHOLAR (RUS) – Barrier No 1
“I’m happy he’s drawn the inside post. He normally comes from well off the pace and he will be able to get a nice sit from there,” said trainer Doug Watson.
“Hopefully that will help us save some ground over this trip.”
A representative of owner Ramzan Kadyrov draws barrier No 1 for Dux Scholar.
BALMONT MAST (IRE) – Barrier No 2
“I wanted a low draw and we got a great draw in No 2,” said trainer Edward Lynam.
“He will have every option from there. It’s perfect.”
KAVANAGH (SAF) – Barrier No 3
“It’s a good draw. If I had a choice, I would have picked that number,” said assistant-trainer Trevor Brown.
“He’s a horse that goes with the speed. He will be in the box-seat from that gate, about two to three lengths off them.”
LUCKY NINE (HK) – Barrier No 4
“The boss (trainer Caspar Fownes) should be happy with that,” said track rider Phillip Chung. “He should be able to be handy to the speed from the draw.”
SPEEDY CAT (SG) – Barrier No 5
“I was hoping five to seven, and I got five. I’m very happy,” said trainer Alvin Tan.
“The reason I like this draw is because it will give him time to settle and take his position.
“If he had drawn one to three, he might get checked when he is on the inside of other runners.
“His gallop on Tuesday was very good. His jockey Manoel Nunes was very happy with that run.
“It’s a strong field, but we’re already proud to represent Singapore and we’ll try our best.”
SUPER EASY & MR BIG (SG) – Barriers No 6 & 7
“It could quite easily have been 10 or 11, so I’m happy with six and seven with my pair,” said trainer Michael Freedman who has previously endured horror draws with his runners in big races.
“With the pace drawn out wide it might string the field out a bit and give everyone a chance.
“The horses are well. So it is all up to the boys (Joao Moreira and Corey Brown) now.”
GOAL KEEPER (SG) – Barrier No 8
Trainer Theo Kieser being the last to go on stage, had no work to do, and was ruing his luck with bad barrier draws over the upcoming weekend of racing.
“There’s not much I can do about it,” said Kieser. “I’ve had some horrible barriers lately and I had the feeling that I was going to get another one here.
“The horse is well but I’ll leave it up to (jockey) Danny (Beasley). He can sum it up at barrier rise and choose what he wants to do in the first 200m.”
DASHER GO GO (JP) – Barrier No 9
“It’s not very good, but last time we drew 17 in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, he still ran fifth,” said assistant-trainer Keiichiro Yasuda.
“Nine is a lot better than 17 and we’ll just have to deal with it. Everything will depend on (jockey Umberto) Rispoli now.”
Assistant-trainer Keiichiro Yasuda looks just as stunned as the Singapore Girl with barrier No 9 for Dasher Go Go.
BEL SPRINTER (AUS) – Barrier No 10
“I’m happy enough with that,” said trainer Jason Warren. “I’d rather him being out there than drawn in barrier one or two.
“He can go in late and will only be in the barriers for a short time. He’s a get-back, run-on sort of horse anyway.
“We’ve just got to hope for some speed in the race that will allow him to run on.”
EMERALD HILL (SG) – Barrier No 11
“It’s not good. We’ll just have to take it as it comes,” said a forlorn trainer John O’Hara.
Though jockey Jose Verenzuela was also bemoaning the bad draw, he was a little less demoralised than the trainer.
“That is a horror gate, but I trialled the horse last week and he was in good shape,” said Verenzuela.
“It’ll be tough as he needs to lead or be up with the pace, but we’ll try our best.”
