Singapore Racing - Weekend Review - 15th and 17th of January

Star mare Kiwi Karma was back to her winning ways when clearly the highlight of the weekend.

Unbeaten third up previously the daughter of Fast 'N' Famous appeared extremely well placed and justified her short-odds when dominant in the eighth event on Friday night.

Kiwi Karma

Ridden by regular rider Manoel Nunes , Kiwi Karma jumped away well from the inside and enjoyed a nice trail with the Desmond Koh trained Southern Boss taking up the running.

Although forced to tow the rest of the field up approaching the turn, Kiwi Karma always travelled strongly and had the race at her mercy a long way out.

Hitting the front shortly after passing the 300m, Kiwi Karma quickly drew two lengths clear and raced away to notch up her seventh career win.

Her third for new trainer Michael Clements, Kiwi Karma was only marked marginally off her best and is proven to improve with racing.

Another positive for Kiwi Karma is the fact she is racing at her heaviest of her career, a key factor which suggests she has continued to strengthen and mature over time.

Often with some of the more forward two-year-olds they can struggle to train on as they are ahead of the age curve early, however that has not been the case with Kiwi Karma.

Formerly trained by Laurie Laxon, Kiwi Karma has raced in great order since joining Michael Clements' care in January last year.

A winner of four of her nine starts since, Kiwi Karma has continued to return ratings well ahead of her 2YO campaign.

Following a very similar profile to her last preparation she appears on track to reach the form that saw her narrowly beaten in last year's Group 1 Lion City Cup [1200m].

On that occasion she finished fourth, but was only beaten a neck behind superstar galloper War Affair.

Proceeding to then finish fourth in the Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint [1200m], there is no question she is one of Singapore's more talented sprinters on her day.

Following Friday's event Clements indicated that the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint (1000m) on March 27 at Meydan was on their radar.

"There is still quite a way to go to race in Dubai, but she is a step closer to that goal now. We’ve actually already booked her ticket and have already organised stables for her in Dubai,” said Clements.

Likely to be seen twice again before making the trip over, Kiwi Karma will have to continue her upward spiral if she is to be considered a leading contender in the feature sprint.

Fellow star sprinter El Padrino contested the same event last year and performed admirably when fourth behind Secret Circle.

In the last five years the average Timeform rating for a Top 4 finish in the event is 114, which is within Kiwi Karma's reach.

If able to run up to her performance behind War Affair in the Lion City Cup she projects to finish fourth if not third based on previous years.

Following a similar progression to her previous preparations it's hard to see her taking a backwards step at her next start and hence she is a must for your blackbook.

Winning Cause

The Patrick Shaw trained Winning Cause was another key performance on Friday night when dominant in his return.

Lining up in the fifth event the son of Giant's Causeway has now won four of his last five starts and continues to make impressive ratings spikes.

Settled towards the rear on Friday night, Winning Cause worked home powerfully down the outside reeling in Lim's Rally inside the 100m.

Proceeding to work through his gears nicely, he is a galloper clearly heading in the right direction and creates plenty of interest moving forward.

More notably, Friday's race was run to suit those closer to the speed and hence his performance held plenty of merit given he was close to last at the 600m.

Expected to keep raising the bar with natural improvement, he should prove very hard to beat wherever Shaw elects to go.