There were a number of star performers in Singapore over the weekend headed by both Countofmontecristo and Lim's Cruiser.
Unbeaten from his first three starts, Countofmontecristo had displayed plenty of raw talent and proceeded to take that next step.
Facing easily his toughest test, Countofmontecristo passed with flying colours and justified his solid market support.
Beginning well from the outside stall, Countofmontecristo pressed on to settle fourth, with the James Peters trained Macarthur taking up the running.Rolling along at a solid clip, Sunday's 3YO sprint was a true test with Macarthur clocking 33.39 seconds for the first 600m.
Under a good hold entering the straight, Countofmontecristo travelled up strongly and already had race favourite Nova Swiss off the bit.Quickly taking over inside the 300m, Countofmontecristo drew clear scoring easily by just under a length.
In what appears a true piece of form, only favourite Nova Swiss was disappointing with the rest of the race locking in nicely.
Successful in returning a new career peak Countofmontecristo is clearly a 3YO heading in the right direction.From a historical perspective, Countofmontecristo has been rated higher than last year's victor Conflight and marginally below that of Kiwi Karma and Affleck the year prior.
Give the brutal early tempo, it also suggests he will have no issues when tried over further and in fact is likely to better.His performance on Sunday's sets up a mouth watering clash with fellow star three-year-old Jupiter Gold.
The second Leg, the Group 2 Singapore Three-year-Old Sprint (1400m) will be held on April 14 while the last Leg, the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) will take place a month later on May 14.Whether or not we see them clash in the second leg or the Guineas remains to be seen, however it is sure to be an intriguing contest.
At this stage we have Jupiter Gold on top, however given Countofmontecristo is yet to be seen beyond 1200m, that is not to suggest he cannot continue his upwards rating spiral.Jupiter Gold's performance in defeating Debt Collector remains the strongest piece of form produced by a 3YO this season.
Will Countofmontecristo be able to eclipse this mark? We'll just have to wait and see.The Stephen Gray trained Lim's Cruiser returned in a big way in the Group 3 Rocket Man Sprint [1200m] when simply too sharp late.
An impressive winner of the Group 2 EW Barker Trophy [1400m] prior to a break, Lim's Cruiser picked up right where he left off, when displaying a dazzling turn of foot.Ridden by Danny Beasley, Lim's Cruiser settled towards the rear, before sticking to the inside and slicing his way through the field.
Travelling well inside the 300m, Lim's Cruiser was held up behind the front-runners until getting a late split passing the 100m.Once clear, his response was immediate, savaging the line to draw clear.
Successful in returning a new career peak, Lim's Cruiser looks set for another bumper preparation as it is worth noting he returned to the races 16kg heavier than last seen.He will no doubt take good improvement from that run and can progress further at his next outing –— he is certainly one to place in your blackbook.
