The dream of clinching the historic Singapore Triple Crown remains alive with the Laurie Laxon trained Stepitup successful in Sunday's Group 1 Raffles Cup.
A dominant victor of the first leg [Group 1 Kranji Mile], the son of Hussonet started the well supported favourite and lived up to all expectations when flashing late to salute in the shadows of the post.
StepitupNotably since joining Laxon's team, Stepitup has won six of his 13 attempts, five of which were in Group company.
Rated 115 by Timeform, Stepitup has been a revelation this time in and now sets his sights on the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup.Ridden by Michael Rodd, Stepitup never really appeared in control with the Leslie Khoo trained Fastnet Dragon giving a strong kick passing the 300m.
Smothered away on the inside, Stepitup took his time to pick up, before really knuckling down over the final 100m.Peeling off Fastnet Dragon's back late in the piece, Stepitup really powered to the finish and in the end won soft on the line.
A winner of 15 of his 33 starts, Sunday's success was notably his twelfth by less than a length.Whether he can now clinch the Singapore Gold Cup remains to be seen, however recent history suggests it remains a very stern task.
Superstar galloper War Affair highlighted the difficulty faced by gallopers attempting the Triple Crown last season, when finishing fifth.Although War Affair won the race easily at the weights, he was unable to repeat the level of his Raffles Cup performance and was beaten 3L.
War Affair was the highest ever rated galloper to attempt the feat and given he was unable to do so, it's hard to envision Stepitup proving successful.While not completely ruling it out, it would require Stepitup to delve into depths he may not be able to reach.
Second placegetter Fastnet Dragon is officially rated 97 (Stepitup 114) and given the favourable weight swing he is to receive, he remains the horse to beat in the Gold Cup.Promising three-year-old Nova Strike was unable to win on Sunday, however his performance in defeat still held plenty of merit and he is definitely worth sticking with.
Anchored with the topweight, Nova Strike was unable to reel in the Shane Baertschiger trained Razzostella, however he still took a step forward in his ratings profile.Finishing second in the third event, Nova Strike notably improved 11 pounds and was a key sectional mark up.
Unchanged from his official rating of 61, he appears very well placed moving forward and is likely to make his presence felt wherever he lines up next.Stablemate Nova Warrior also impressed when too sharp on-speed in the seventh event.
Ridden by Rizuan Shafiq, Nova Warrior took full advantage of the soft run in front, when reeling off a slick last 600m.Marked close to a length inside standard it highlighted the difficulty faced by his rivals in attempting to run him down.
His third victory from five starts the son of Bachelor Duke has returned in good order for the Alvin Tan stable and is tipped to continue his upwards spiral.Since saluting on debut in May, Nova Warrior has improved 14 pounds and is clearly heading in the right direction.
Likely to be tried against tougher opposition at his next outing, he is expected to take that next step.Unfortunately there was just the sole meeting at Singapore over the weekend, with Friday's meeting cancelled due to the worsening haze condition.
The 3-hour PSI reading at 3.00pm had reached 199, indicating a very unhealthy level.