Stablemates Cash Luck and Castor stepped out in the same Tuesday barrier trial for their final gallops ahead of their respective big-race assignments on Sunday.
Cash Luck, who is entered in the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy (1800m), narrowly took out the event while Castor, Kok’s two-year-old contender in the Group 3 Juvenile Championship (1200m), ran last in the eight-horse field.
While Cash Luck, who has not raced since his unplaced effort to Wild Geese in the Group 2 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) last April, closed off nicely from midfield under race-jockey John Powell to just nab Magneto (Barend Vorster), Castor (Troy See) lost his early good spot to gradually drop out of contention to finish around nine lengths off his stablemate.
Kok was not reading too much into the contrasting results, though. To him, the workout was a solid tune-up first and foremost, but he did say Castor had excuses for his lacklustre run.
“Castor lost his left hind shoe in the trial. Troy just let him finish at the back,” said Kok.
“I’m not too worried by that as he has trained on since his last win (2YO race over 1100m on June 27). So far, he’s worked okay and today’s run will top him off nicely.
“Cash Luck is back from a spell (three months) and it was a solid hit-out for him. JP said he had maintained his form and fitness, but I still think he could have used one more trial.”
Cash Luck and, recently, Castor have been Kok’s two leading lights in his barn of around 50 horses, but the Singaporean said that, realistically, they both have their jobs cut out on Sunday. Cash Luck, a five-year-old son of Bradbury’s Luck, is Kok’s only feature race winner (Group 1 Panasonic Kranji Mile over 1600m last year followed by the Group 3 JBBA Moonbeam Vase over 1800m in April) thus far while Castor, a son of Greenwood Lake, handed him one Leg of the Singapore Golden Horseshoe series in May.
“Cash Luck has been by far my best horse – he gave me my first Group 1 win. He didn’t run that good in the QEII Cup, but I think the 2000m is too far for him as he is more of a mile-1800m horse,” he said.
“I was more confident when he ran in the JBBA Moonbeam Vase, though, because he had a good prep run over 1600m going into the race.
“But this time, he is coming back from a freshen-up. Though the weight-for-age conditions give him an advantage, I think he may still need the run.
“Stepitup and Wild Geese will be the horses to beat. Goodman was impressive at his last win, but he is a query over the trip, but when a horse is in form, anything can happen.
“Castor showed plenty of fight when he beat Laurie Laxon’s two-year-old Exceed Express at his last start, but the field will be too strong for him on Sunday, especially Affleck, who is to me the horse to beat.”
After capturing four (Kiwi Karma won three, including the Group 2 Aushorse Golden Horseshoe over 1200m, and Affleck won one) of the six races in the Singapore Golden Horseshoe series, Laxon looks a shoo-in to continue his dominance in the two-year-old races this year.
The Kiwi mentor gang-tackles the Juvenile Championship with a quartet made up of likely favourite Affleck, Kiwi Karma, Exceed Express and his latest debut winner, Mexican Gal, daughter of his former juvenile champion Mexican Rose.
