Trainer Leticia Dragon knows the score when it comes to match-ups between the Steven Burridge-trained Captain Obvious and her very own sprinter Perfect Pins: 2-1 - which she hopes will be brought to parity on Sunday afternoon.
The two former Malaysian-based quality sprinters will clash for the fifth time in the $125,000 RDA Cup, an Open Class race over 1000m on Polytrack, with the score now standing at two wins to Captain Obvious and one to Perfect Pins, while the last encounter in last May's $1 million Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m) saw Captain Obvious run fourth, 3 ½ astern of the winner Ato and Perfect Pins in eighth spot another 16 lengths further away.
While Burridge's grey flash by Verglas seems to have the edge - be it a 48-length drubbing of Perfect Pins (Iast) in the Group 1 Sprint Trophy in 2010 or their 10-point difference in ratings - Dragon is confident the marked improvement she has seen in the Pins six-year-old since his unplaced effort in the KrisFlyer, a race he ran a cracking third to Rocket Man last year, can turn the tables on Captain Obvious and bring the score to 2-2.
“Without taking anything away from the other runners, Captain Obvious will be his main danger. The two often raced against each other in his early racing days in Malaysia and we know how good he is,” said Dragon.
“Perfect Pins probably had circumstances against him in the KrisFlyer. Though he did win on soft going in his early days, I've always preferred him to race on better tracks.
“He didn't really run up to his true form in the KrisFlyer, and it's best to forget that run. I'm not trying to find excuses but it was also his second run after a break, but he has pulled up good since.”
Dragon said Perfect Pins, whose two wins in Singapore were both recorded on Polytrack and over the RDA Cup's 1000m trip, will find the return to the all-weather track and a lighter load to his advantage.
“He loves the Polytrack and he will also be carrying a lighter weight (54kg compared to 57kg in KrisFlyer),” said Dragon who has brought up 12 winners in her first year as a trainer in her own right since taking over from her father Douglas in January.
“He had a nice cruising gallop on Tuesday morning and I think he should get into Sunday's race in good shape.”
As regular partner Jose Verenzuela is suspended for careless riding, the reins have been handed to English rider Alan Munro for the first time.
“Jose is suspended and we had to look for another jockey,” said Dragon. “As Alan won for us on Rapid Rewards last Friday, we thought we'd give him another ride and hope we have the same luck.
“After Sunday's run, we will just see what is available for him. I will be looking for Polytrack races for him, and I think the Group 3 Woodlands Handicap (August 19) is a race that would suit him.”
While Dragon will be keeping her fingers crossed for the six-time winner (scored a four-in-a-row at his first four runs in Malaysia when prepared by Frank Maynard) to bounce back to winning ways, she will be anxious to see how her first steps in uncharted Argentinian waters unfold this weekend.
Kingracer (Friday) and Good Loouken (Sunday) are the first two of her three new Argentinian-bred purchases to make their racing debut at Kranji. The third one is an unraced two-year-old.
With the help of another fan of thoroughbreds from the South American country, Patrick Shaw, Dragon ventured to Buenos Aires last August in search of the next Blizz Bless, Escamonda or Jamal Malik.
“Argentinian horses have over the years proven they acclimatise very well in Singapore,” said Dragon.
“Though they have winter over there, I think their temperate weather is similar to ours. Besides those who have done well, I've also noticed from the racing history and records that a lot of the horses who came here to race in the SIA Cup or KrisFlyer had Argentinian-breds in their family.
“Japan is also known to use a lot of broodmares from Argentina. So I think its quality is well recognised around the world and it was a good market to explore.
“I'm very thankful to Pat to have put me in contact with a good vet friend of his in Argentina. I went there last August and bought three horses and three more just arrived two months ago.”
Dragon said both gallopers have worked and trialled well. Kingracer, a three-year-old by Orpen (sire of the useful Davide) did the better when he blew his rivals away by seven lengths on May 16 while Good Loouken ran a half-length second to Vaya Condios on May 31.
Nothing like a win would give Dragon a better vindication for having tested the waters in the land of the gauchos, but a vested interest in Good Loouken clearly tells where her soft spot lies.
“I called him Good Loouken because he was really good-looking. He's a big strapping horse and shows a lot of condition,” said Dragon of the four-year-old by Easing Along, the same sire of Martincho Cat.
“Then again, he's high on ratings as he's raced at Group 2 level. I thought not many owners would want to buy him as he would be weighted highly in a handicap.
“In saying this, I still thought he would be a handy horse in Class 3 company here, ideally over 1400m to 1600m, and I decided to get him for myself. I hope I made the right choice.”
Good Loouken will be ridden by Joao Moreira in the $75,000 Class 3 ICAP Singapore Stakes (1100m) while Kingracer, who will have John Powell up, makes his debut in Friday's last race, the $55,000 Class 4 Division 1 race (1200m).
