Mr Clint ready to make their day
Legendary Laxon still has good reason to keep eye on straight
Barriers are of no consequence. Hall Of Fame trainer Lee Freedman
As Singapore’s nine-time champion trainer, New Zealand’s Laurie Laxon was used to looking back down the Kranji home straight and waiting for each of his close to 1800 winners to reach the winning post in front of the opposition.
At close to midnight (NZT) tonight, Laxon will be looking down that same stretch with even more intent.
He has Mr Clint as one of the favourites in the S$1m Singapore Guineas.
This time it’s different. Laxon put the saddle on each of that large number of winners, but fellow Hall Of Fame trainer Lee Freedman will tighten the saddle on Mr Clint.
Laxon half owns Mr Clint with close friend Phua Chian Kim.
He bought the Power-Miss Victoria colt for $90,000 at the 2016 Ready To Run Karaka sale and as Mr Clint he is now one of Singapore’s most progressive horses. He was a stunning type and the Zabeel-Danehill-Centaine first three dam sires looked good on paper.
Laxon sold his Singapore training business to Freedman last year and returned to New Zealand in August.
After 19 years of Singapore’s socalled winters, he returned there last month to stay until October.
As much as he is revered in Singapore, he has a pretty good replacement trainer in Freedman, producer of a lazy 124 group one winners in a headlining career.
Freedman displayed his experience and relaxed manner when asked to comment on Mr Clint’s wide No 14 barrier mid-week.
“Barriers are of no consequence,” he said as he went back to his red wine.
Freedman will let his rider Zac Purton worry about the barrier draw. Purton is locked in a titanic battle with Jaoa Moreira for the Hong Kong Jockeys’ Premiership, drawing to within four wins of the champ with a quartet of wins last Sunday.
Purton is riding with rare touch. His tactical guile is remarkable.
Champion horsemen don’t stick to the traditional. There is always a plan B in the pipeline.
When Mr Clint ran a slashing second in the first leg of a 3-year-old series then flopped badly two weeks later, Freedman pulled an old rabbit out of the hat.
“Twenty four years ago I had Paris Lane on track for the Caulfield Cup when his form dropped away. I felt he could be getting a bit big in condition on me, so I took a chance and ran him three weeks in a row. He won the Caulfield Cup.
“This horse is a little the same, he gets big in condition quickly.”
Freedman took the same chance and ran Mr Clint last week and he produced a stunner, coming from an impossible rearward position on the home bend to score running away.
“That is exactly what I wanted to see. We were right to run him,” said Freedman. That will top him up nicely for the Guineas, he needed that run.”
Laxon has shares in a second Guineas runner Mr Dujardin, a promising High Chaparral staying type, who will be ridden by Vlad Duric.
The night will be highlighted by the S$1m Kranji Mile. Singapore axed its international invitation raceday in 2015 and re-introduced the Kranji Mile this year and will resume its three-race programme from next May.
New Zealand is represented by Matamata-trained Ocean Emperor, to be ridden by Jason Collett.
The under-rated Zabeel stallion lost weight on his flight, but has picked up brilliantly and Garry Hennessy is delighted with his progress. Hennessy has always flown under the radar as a trainer, many forgetting he has a Cox Plate in his lounge courtesy of preparing Ocean Park.
Volkstok’n’barrell is now trained in Singapore by ex-pat Donna Logan, but we are entitled to share the spoils if the old bloke gets the dollars.
Logan is always available for the press, but is equally happy to keep her pre-race plans to herself.
Asked to comment on Volkstok’nbarrell’s wide No 11 barrier she said: “It is what it is.”
Ocean Emperor has gate No 7.