Trainer Alvin Tan went into a mild panic late last week when he learned that Manoel Nunes was to ride Huka Falls in the Group 3 $200,000 Woodlands Handicap over 1200m on Friday.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
Tan has Speedy Cat nominated in the race and Nunes has been the regular partner of the now five-year-old at his past six outings.
A phone call to the Brazilian-rider put Tan’s mind at rest when he assured the trainer that he would be riding Speedy Cat on Friday.
“I read on the website last Friday morning that Nunes was going to ride Huka Falls (who will now be ridden by Danny Beasley) in the race,” said Tan. “It had me worried but he (Nunes) told me that he would be riding my horse so I’m a lot happier now.”
Speedy Cat is the topweight in Friday afternoon’s feature race and will carry 59kg, giving a minimum of 6.5kg away to his rivals and comes into this race as a last start third behind Makkura in the Group 3 Paititi Gold Trophy over 1200m on July 14..
Tan said he was concerned with the weight and will be asking Nunes to ride the gelding in a more handy position at Friday’s National Day holiday meeting.
“He is giving away quite a bit of weight to horses like Huka Falls, Valevole and Rapido Star and it’s a concern to me that the other horses have such lightweights,” said Tan.
“Hopefully we will get a good barrier but he is giving away at least 6.5kg in weight to the other horses.
“It is also tough carrying 59kg to win on the Polytrack and because of that I will be asking Nunes to try and ride him a bit closer to the speed with that weight as it will take away his speed at the finish.”
Tan said Speedy Cat had a good gallop with stablemate Perfect Charger last week and has been restricted to light workouts since.
He added that Speedy Cat was a horse that needed some type of work each day to keep him in good condition and will be sending him to the hill track on Thursday morning.
While Friday afternoon’s race is a non-claiming race, Tan said he would not have gone for a claim in any case as Speedy Cat is a horse that requires a senior jockey to extract the best from him.
John Powell, Joao Moreira, Ivaldo Santana and Nunes are the only four jockeys to have ridden Speedy Cat in his 21 start career which has netted eight wins and nine minor placings.
“Nunes and Johnny Powell know the horse very well,” said Tan. “I cannot go putting an apprentice on him as he is a very funny character.
“He cannot be held up too much and if he’s allowed to run too freely he doesn’t finish off his races.
“Johnny Powell and Nunes especially have a very good understanding of the horse.”
Following Friday afternoon’s race, Tan said he would look to the Group 3 $200,000 Jumbo Jet Trophy over 1400m on September 1 and further down the track aim at the Group 1 $500,000 Kranji Mile over 1600m on October 6.
“After Friday I think I will have to start looking for the set-weights races for him,” said Tan.
“The Jumbo Jet over 1400m could be a good option and I think the Kranji Mile could also be a good option.
“I think he will run 1600m alright, but I will have to go and change up his training program.”
By Scaredee Cat from Lane Cove, Speedy Cat has proven a good money spinner for Tan, returning more than $800,000 in prizemoney from his 21 starts.
