There were a number of eye-catching performances in Singapore over the weekend headed by talented four-year-old Fitzroy.
Only lightly raced the son of Swiss Ace has displayed plenty of ability and proceeded to take full advantage of the drop back in grade on Friday night.
Lining up in the second event, Fitzroy simply proved too sharp for his rivals, saluting by five lengths in the Class 4 event.Ridden by Michael Rodd, Fitzroy was in firm control from the outset and after receiving a soft lead (25.65 seconds - first 400m), the race was already a foregone conclusion on straightening.
Allowed to work through his gears, Fitzroy displayed a very sharp turn of foot leaving his rivals standing still passing the 400m.Eased down late, Fitzroy was marked over 5.5L inside standard for the final 600m and recorded a blistering 21.94 seconds for the final 400m.
Although no match for his stablemate Debt Collector in the Singapore Guineas [1600m], Fitzroy appears to have made good improvement off a break and is clearly a nice horse heading the right way.Formerly trained by Chris Waller, Fitzroy first stepped out for the Cliff Brown stable back in February when finishing second behind Awesome over 1200m.
In five starts since, Fitzroy has collected two wins, both over 1200m and by a combined margin of 14 lengths.His performance when fourth in the Guineas held plenty of merit and given he has now returned a winner he remains firmly under focus.
Judging by his two victories over the shorter trip, it could actually prove his pet distance however Cliff Brown was not giving much away following Fitzroy's victory.“He’s a very nice horse, but he’s still got a long way to go towards his ultimate objective,” said Brown without elaborating further on that long-range goal.
Fitzroy's performance on Friday night saw him return a new career peak and given he had a five length margin up his sleeve his next start creates plenty of interest.It is anticipated that he will improve between five and seven pounds at his next outing, improvement which should see him very hard to beat if placed in suitable company.
Although predominantly in the shadow of his stablemate [Debt Collector] last preparation he too is quite the talent and is a must for your blackbook.Another galloper who really impressed on Friday night was the Stephen Gray trained Lim's Cruiser.
Formerly based in New Zealand, Lim's Cruiser has now won two of four attempts for the Gray stable, finishing second on both other occasions.Having only been narrowly beaten two back, Lim's Cruiser took a good step forward in the eighth event, spacing his rivals over the mile.
Ridden by Vlad Duric, Lim's Cruiser enjoyed a lovely run just off the speed before quickly taking over on straightening.Enjoying a saloon passage along the rail, Lim's Cruiser quickly put the race away in a few strides drawing two lengths clear passing the 300m.
Eased down over the final 50m, Lim's Cruiser saluted by 5.5L with the clock backing up the strength of the performance.Successful in recording a new career peak, Lim's Cruiser clearly relished the step up in trip with Gray indicating he could prove a Derby horse next year.
Whether he reaches those lofty heights remains to be seen however he should have no concerns working through his grades as more wins appear in store.Gray is a master at training middle-distance horses and Lim's Cruiser is definitely worth adding to your blackbook.
