In-form trainer Theo Kieser may head one of the smallest yards at Kranji but his handy strike rate of 18.48 per cent does explain why he is among one of the most regular visitors at the winner's circle this year.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
The South African's record of 17 winners, including 10 individual winners, hailing from a team of only 39 horses, has taken him to sixth spot on the Singapore trainer's premiership, ahead of bigger yards like champion trainer Patrick Shaw's (15) and Mark Walker (11) for instance. Kieser, who received his trainer's licence at the end of 2009, finished 26th the next year and 18th on 29 winners in 2011.
Just last weekend, champion trainer Laurie Laxon's former assistant-trainer sent out a small team of six runners and came away with a double. Increasingly known as a master of two-year-olds since Kaiser's feats as a juvenile last year, Kieser produced yet another “baby” in Yin Jie who took out the fifth Leg of the Singapore Golden Horseshoe series ($95,000 IRT Juvenile Stakes over 1200m on turf) on Sunday followed a few races later by a stable one-two with Honest Truth and Maple Star in an Open Benchmark 83 race.
Kieser was not on hand to lead in the two winners but watched the races 'live' from Melbourne where he was attending the Inglis Autumn Yearling Sale in Oaklands Junction.
“I saw both races in Melbourne and was of course very happy with the results,” said Kieser.
“Though I may be away, the work programme is already pre-planned on a day-to-day basis and I am lucky to have very good staff who follow them to the letter. (Assistant-trainer) Mahadi (Taib) and the boys are doing a fantastic job.
“Yin Jie is not really bred as a sprinter and I would have been happy to see him finish in the first three. I think he's better over more ground – probably up to a mile and even 1800m.
“There aren't too many races (longer distance) for him later in the year. I will give him one more run in the last leg of the series on May 18 and give him a bit of a break after that.
“I think the longer races of the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge may be more up his alley next year.”
Kieser said Patinack Farm Stable's Honest Truth's fighting win (his third at Kranji) in the $95,000 Capablanca 2008 Handicap (1000m) on Polytrack was a pleasant surprise.
“After he won in Class 4, I thought he would find it a bit tough in Class 3 as there are a lot of good horses at that level, but I'm glad to see he's held his own,” said Kieser.
“I thought Maple Star would win as he was travelling a lot better at the 500m and Honest Truth was already off the bit, but he (Honest Truth) showed how game he was and kept on fighting. That did surprise me a little.”
After the euphoria of the weekend has died down, Kieser can afford to take a breather this weekend with only two runners – Rory and Dragon Spirit - set down to race on Friday. He has no runners on Sunday.
Rory is another one from his nursery of two-year-olds that has already seen Griffin, Zeus Thunder and Yin Jie claim three Legs of the seven-race Singapore Golden Horseshoe series and will be racing in the sixth Leg, the $75,000 Magic Millions National Yearling Stakes (1000m) on Polytrack, Friday evening. A New Zealand-bred by Rusty Spur, Rory races in the colours of Gryphon Stable, who also own Griffin and Zeus Thunder as well as Kaiser, Kieser's last year's top juvenile.
“I don't have many horses, but it's good to see them running good races,” said Kieser.
“Rory is a nice horse but he is a touch underdone and is probably short of another trial. He had a few setbacks and is probably not 100 per cent, but he will get there eventually.
“Dragon Spirit is up in class and has drawn barrier No 9, which will make things tougher for him. We'll look and see but I think he will win at Class 3 level one day.”
Kieser said his frequent trips to yearling sales (he recently attended the Inglis Easter sale before the Autumn sale) were aimed at building a new future.
“What I'm trying to do is get as many yearlings, new fresh blood to build up the next few years ahead,” he said.
“I bought four horses in Melbourne, and I'm pretty happy with the two cheap ones I got.
“I paid only A$31,000 for a Keep The Faith who is a half-brother to Coffeeshop Gossip, who is doing very well in Malaysia. He looks like the sprinting sort who can go up to a mile later.
“The other one is a sprinter type by Churchill Downs and I paid only $20,000 for him. They're both for a new client of mine and I hope they both show potential one day."
