Slew Of Lode continues to make his mark at Kranji on Sunday when he recorded a third successive win which has certainly boosted his credentials for the upcoming Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge.
The Argentinian-bred four-year-old by Lode came off a handy spot in the $75,000 Class 3 race over 1200m before charging away to a stylish 2 ½-length win from Strubeli (Lisa Allpress), who pinched second spot from Totality (Manoel Nunes) by a neck.
One of the best away, Slew Of Lode (John Powell) sat a lot closer to the speed this time, settling outside the leader Yin Jie (Ivaldo Santana) before being popped the question at the top of the straight. Yin Jie offered a meek resistance as Slew Of Lode shot clear in a few strides, though he looked inclined to carry his head a little sideways inside the final 100m, to go and earn the thicker end of the prizemoney.
Slew Of Lode, a four-time winner in Argentina and now a three-time winner in Singapore, recorded the time of 1min 12.08secs for the 1200m on Polytrack, rewarding his many backers with a skinny payout of $7.
Prepared by trainer Patrick Shaw, Slew Of Lode has incidentally scored his trio of wins, all with Australian jockey John Powell aboard and all over 1200m, but looking at the way he hit the line and on his record of two wins over the mile in Argentina, designs over more ground as his future endeavours would not be uncalled for.
“He won over 1600m back home. He is going for the 4YO Challenge, and obviously he would be going through races like the Patron’s Bowl (1600m), and then we’ll see about the (Emirates Singapore) Derby.” said the South African trainer.
“I was actually surprised when John took him outside the leader as I thought there would be a lot of pace to the race and I didn’t think he had enough speed, but I guess John has done his speedmap and knew what he was doing.
“I think as we step him up in distance and he goes up in class, we could ride him a bit colder. John did say he had to ride him quite aggressively to be up there with the pace today.”
Powell, who has been riding on a crest of a wave, including getting on the back of some smart winners like Faaltless and Blue Swede last Friday, was again impressed with the Fred Crabbia-owned gelding’s powerful turn of foot, but felt it was time to step him up in distance.
“He’s a very fit horse and has been well prepared by Pat, but at the start, I had to give him a bit of a rev-up as he kept looking at the other horses on the inside.
“Even in the home straight, his head was turned to the inside like he wanted to have a go at that horse on the inside. I could be wrong, but I feel 1200m may be too quick for him now and maybe blinkers may help him.
“I reckon he will settle better over longer trips and will be able to come home better, but it was still a super win today. You can’t do any more than that with him – he’s a very good horse.”
With that third straight win, Slew Of Lode has now banked in around $120,000 in stakes earnings for Crabbia.
The Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge begins on June 1 with the Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1400m), moving on to the Group 1 Patron’s Bowl (1600m) three weeks later before winding up with the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby (2000m) on July 13.
