Trainer Hideyuki Takaoka cannot quite explain his subdued performance this year but hopes the comeback of three of his better horses could perk things up a little this weekend - and beyond.
The Japanese handler, who has plied his trade at Kranji for a decade now, enjoyed a bumper crop last year with 45 crossing the wire first when on an average year, he would saddle around 30 winners, give and take. Last year this time, he had already struck 37 times, but in sharp contrast, his current score now stands at less than half that mark – 16 winners, not to mention a low strike rate of 5.5%.
Looking back, Takaoka got off the starting blocks reasonably well, but in the last couple of months, wins had dwindled to only one apiece in June (Roma) and July (Zipangu).
It is true that Takaoka, who heads a rather small team of 40-odd horses this year, does not have an embarrassment of riches like some of the big yards at Kranji, with most of his 2015 success coming from the lower divisions and only Thumping (twice) and Believe Yourself in the top tier.
But it is precisely the racing comeback of those two along with Room For Excuse that can turn the tide for the man who has often had his season saved by the lone standout horse such as three-time Singapore Gold Cup winner El Dorado, 4YO Triple Crown winner Jolie’s Shinju and brilliant mare Better Life.
Takaoka doubts the resuming trio (all had some various leg setbacks) raced by three different Japanese owners, as handy as they are, will ever scale to the same stellar heights as those stable heroes, but he is already thankful they will beef up his team in work.
“This year has been pretty quiet. Not sure why,” he said.
“But it’s good to see those three come back this week. I’m not sure they can win first-up, but they all have had enough work (since their long spell) to be fit enough for their first race.”
On Friday, Room For Excuse lines up in the Graduation race over 1200m while Believe Yourself will run in the Open Benchmark 83 race over 1200m. Believe Yourself, a son of Sebring, who famously ran fourth as a two-year-old in the 2013 Golden Slipper (1200m) in Australia, is back after a three-month spell since her luckless fourth in the Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m) while Room For Excuse, a two-time winner by No Excuse Needed, has been on the outer even longer, since October when he flew home for third to Darci Charmer.
And on Sunday, lining up in the Open race over 1600m will be US-bred mare Thumping, back after a four-month spell following her disappointing last place in the Group 2 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) in April.
“After the Singapore Guineas, I gave Believe Yourself a break but it took longer after she cut her skin in the stable and needed some stitches,” said Takaoka.
“She has been working well and I feel she has improved. I didn’t give her any trial as she doesn’t need it.
“She is still very light, around 445kg, but that is the way she is. At least, she is more acclimatised now compared to the first two months she was here.
“Room For Excuse’s problem was more serious. He had chips in both knees and had surgery in January, but he’s all good now.
“He had a few easy trials and I was very happy with that. Alan (Munro) rode him and said he gave him a good feeling.
“He also rode Thumping and said she felt good, which was good news as she was very sore after the QEII Cup. The farrier had to put new special plates on her and she’s better now.
“But she is still a bit fat and I think she may need the run on Sunday.”
With Munro (pictured on top with Takaoka) their regular partner throughout their career, bar for Thumping at a few runs, and unsurprisingly getting the leg-up at all three comeback runs, his feedback will be crucial to Takaoka from a future standpoint.
“I have a bit more choices for Believe Yourself as she can go up to a mile. I would like to run her in the Kranji Mile (October 4) but her rating (74) may not be enough,” he said. “She will need to run well on Friday and then probably have another run.
“Room For Excuse, on the other hand, is just a pure sprinter. His rating (71) is also low and I’m not sure if he can go for a feature race.”
But when it comes to Thumping, Takaoka does not beat about the bush about the Any Given Saturday daughter’s ultimate goal – a record fifth Singapore Gold Cup in the Kranji era.
He is not an all-or-nothing kind of trainer, though. He would rather hedge his bets by eschewing races which to him do not fit in their pathway towards the bigger target, the best case in point being Better Life bypassing the Group 1 Raffles Cup (1800m) in between the Group 1 Panasonic Kranji Mile (1600m) and Longines Singapore Gold Cup (2200m) wins in 2012.
“Obviously, Thumping’s main goal is the Gold Cup (November 15), but I haven’t yet decided if she will run in the first two Legs or if it’s one, which one will it be,” he said in allusion to the Singapore Triple Crown series which no horse has ever won in one calendar year.
“They’re three weeks apart and I need to think about it.”
