Karaka Million hero off to race in Singapore
Last season’s Karaka Million winner Xiong Feng is to continue his career overseas.
“He’s going to Singapore and he’ll probably fly out next week,” trainer Stephen McKee said.
Xiong Feng won his first two starts as a two-year-old on rain-affected tracks at Ellerslie and Te Rapa before he led all the way on top of the ground to triumph in the Million for McKee, who was then in partnership with Eddie Chippendale.
Out of a half-sister to the Cox Plate winner Maldivian, the Iffraaj gelding’s best effort in a handful of appear- ances this term was a fourth placing in the group three Bonecrusher Stakes.
“He hasn’t been quite right due to a back problem and he’s been growing as well so I eased up on him after his last run,” McKee said.
“The owners will be looking to run him in the Three-Year-Old Triple Crown series up there next year.”
Xiong Feng is raced by the Singapore quartet of Tan Kim Chua Stanley, Tan Koon Eng, James Leong Cen Ming and Lim Keat Joo, who purchased him for $30,000 out of Monovale Farm’s Select Sale draft to Karaka last year. Meanwhile, McKee is expecting another tidy performance from the promising O’Angel in the Global Logis- tic Maiden at Ellerslie today. She was most recently runner-up to the subsequent listed placegetter I Am Gracie at Avondale.
“That was a nice effort and while she hasn’t run for a little while, she should go well,” he said.
McKee was also pleased with the recent resuming run of Poetic Affair, who will step out in the Cardinal Logistics 1600.
“She just got outsprinted the final bit and I wouldn’t expect her to be too far away, but she’ll be at her best when she gets up to 2000 metres,” McKee said.