Trainer Alwin Tan may be careering away to his first Singapore champion trainer title, but he has not been as prolific in the big races as opposed to his last two seasons when he swept 12 - a state of affairs he intends to rectify this Friday.
The Singaporean still landed two Group 3 races, the Dester Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1200m) won by Conflight in March, and the Juvenile Championship (1200m) won by Mystic Master in July. He also won the Landex Cup (1200m) with Nova Strike on October 23, but that race does not come with a Group label.
It is with that same Nova Strike that he hopes to beef up on his 2016 Group wins resume, in this Friday’s $350,000 Group 2 EW Barker Trophy (1400m). He also saddles Cavallo in the popular handicap race that he has yet to annex, but it is clear which horse his eyes will be mostly trained on for the best part of 80-odd seconds.
“It’s an open field. There are a lot of frontrunners on a light weight and a we are giving a lot of good horses seven kilos like Alibi and Magnum,” said the former Air Force regular.
“Those carrying some weight are just as good, like Spanish Bay who beat Nova Strike two runs back. He is definitely one of the main contenders.
“But Nova Strike has drawn well (four), and based on his last run over 1200m when he won quite impressively, I expect him to sprint home very well.
“We will go for the same tactics, but the key to him is he needs pace. I hope the race is run at a genuine pace.
“But it’s a big field, and anything can happen. I just hope he doesn’t get checked.
“Nova Strike deserves a Group win, and it would be nice to end the year with one as I didn’t win many feature races this year.
“As for Cavallo, he was a bit disappointing at his last run (ninth to Storm Troops, another EW Barker rival). I think the track was too hard, a bit of rain would help him.
“He’s old but he has maintained his form and I can only hope he runs a good race.”
Nova Strike and Cavallo will be ridden by regular partners Manoel Nunes and John Sundradas respectively.
While the EW Barker Trophy remains the centerpiece of his racing routine on Friday, Tan will probably get caught into a different type of trackside attraction on that night.
“I was able to book Joao Moreira on two horses, Perfect Commando and Mystic Master (Group 3 Juvenile Championship winner),” said Tan, who like most of his 25 colleagues at Kranji, often combined with the Magic Man to many wins during his Singapore reign of terror between 2009 and 2013.
“Obviously, it did upset the jockeys who ride them normally, both in work and in races, but it was the owners’ decision not to miss such an opportunity to get Joao on their horses.
“It’s good for them as they are flying in from Malaysia just to take photos with Joao, win or lose. I think I will charge them a fee for the photos!”
Tan hopes Moreira’s Midas touch will work its magic on those two horses, but is not losing sight of their own intrinsic abilities either.
“In Race 2, I’m increasing the distance from 1000m to 1200m for Perfect Commando and switching him from Polytrack to turf,” he said.
“He trialled very well on turf in New Zealand (won at Matamata) and at his last trial here, we raced him forward and he won by two lengths.
“Joao will have to adjust to the pace. John Powell told me he was a good horse and I hope he shows his true potential tomorrow.
“Mystic Master is in the last race. He has maintained his form and will run in another open race.
“I think he still stands a good chance even if he has also drawn the same wide barrier as Perfect Commando (10). I hope Joao can do his magic and get him in a good spot with cover.
“I’ve also got Rainbow Warrior and Power Lin in that race, but they have also drawn wide. Rainbow Warrior is fast and speedy but from barrier 11, he will have no other choice but to go forward.
“Power Lin’s form is not fantastic, but he raced against some good horses at his last run, and this is slightly easier.”
