Sunday, June 01, 2008
The sparingly-raced World Strongman overcame his leg
problems to score his maiden win at Kranji on
Sunday.
Formerly
handled by Bruce Marsh and now under the care of trainer Stephen Burridge,
the three-year-old by Newtown Jet burst from midfield to make away with
the top prize in the $65,000 Restricted Maiden-2 (2 & 3YO) race over
1200m.
At the
top of the straight, favourite Noble One (Saimee Jumaat) who broke from
the widest alley (14) seemed to live up to his favourite tag when he put
two lengths on his rivals.
World Strongman (K K Ng) overcame his leg
problems to break his maiden status on Sunday.
But when
jockey Ng Kok Keong, who had parked World Strongman in an ideal position
in sixth one off the fence with cover, released the brakes, the issue was
quickly put beyond any doubt when he swept past the leader with ease,
though he was inclined to duck in inside the last
200m.
Ng did a
good job by stopping riding and pulling the right rein wide out to keep
his mount on a straight path. Despite the slight steering issue,
Burridge¡¯s galloper was too strong to the line, certainly earning his name
very well.
¡°He¡¯s a
horse with leg problems and is never 100 per cent well. I¡¯ve had to
scratch him many times before he could get a start,¡± said
Burridge.
¡°When he
hung in, it was his feet that caused him to do that. That¡¯s why I have to put the
winkers on.
¡°He does
tend to hang in when he is under pressure, but I¡¯m glad he¡¯s finally won a
race.
"The sting out of the ground probably helped him as well
today. He is not suited by hard grounds because of his feet
problems."
The
other pleasing performance was put in by Harundsan (Noel Callow) who
improved on his two previous ordinary runs to run a creditable
third.
The
Sakura Seeking three-year-old enjoyed a nice posie behind the speed and
switched across heels to stake his claim, but the winner was a touch too
good.