Trainer Bruce Marsh would not swap his trio’s underdog tag with any other trainer in the $200,000 Group 3 Committee’s Prize on Sunday.
The likeable Kiwi saddles his usual big-race suspects of Trudeau, Cheetah On Fire and Knight's Command – three seasoned campaigners with a combined age of 23 between them - in the handicap mile race, with the bigger prize, the Group 1 Longines Singapore Gold Cup (2200m) on November 15, as the clear long-term target, especially for the latter two, given the trip may be a query for Trudeau.
To be ridden by Matthew Kellady for the first time, One Cool Cat seven-year-old Cheetah On Fire (50kgs) ran a surprising third to Quechua in the premier race last year while Pins eight-year-old Knight’s Command (53kgs), who will have Marsh’s apprentice jockey Zuriman Zulkifli aboard, ran seventh, but less than three lengths off his stablemate.
Results have been mixed for both since the Gold Cup with Knight’s Command landing the Group 3 Woodlands Classic Stakes (2000m) in January, but was spelled for six months after running second in the Group 3 Fortune Bowl (2000m) while Cheetah On Fire has been threatening without winning in six runs this prep.
As for Trudeau (50kgs), Marsh was just an unconditional fan of the Exceed And Excel eight-year-old even if the last win dates back to June 2014 in Kuala Lumpur (Group 1 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor) as he watched him run second with race-rider Rueven Ravindra up in a barrier trial on Tuesday.
“Trudeau is Trudeau, always ready to run!” he simply said. “That was another good trial from him. He ran very well without the blinkers.
“The 1200m and the blinkers didn’t suit him last time but he has pulled up well as you could see this morning. I will remove the blinkers from him on Sunday as I don’t think they’ve ever done anything to him.
“When horses get old, they get a bit complacent. You need to change up their routine a bit and that can spark them up again.”
Overall, Marsh had no reason to complain about his threesome’s state of readiness, more so when the spotlight will be on topweight Stepitup (59kgs), who is giving weight all round, and new buzz horse, Derby placegetter Fastnet Dragon.
“My horses are well. They have all pulled up well from their last runs and will be at their best for this race,” he said.
“Cheetah On Fire and Knight’s Command are both gearing up for the Gold Cup. Cheetah On Fire has always been around the mark this prep while Knight’s Command has had a different preparation.
“He got jarred up after his last run and he’s the sort who just needs an extra long spell. I didn’t want him doing a lot of racing until the Singapore Gold Cup.
“But they are as good as gold now and with their low weight, you never know. I mean, Stepitup is a big-hearted horse and there is no need to be reminded of that, but 59kgs and giving weight to most of them including my three guys, it’s going to be tough.”
Marsh, a former top jockey who even crossed the Tasman Sea and returned home with the most famous Australian trophy of all, the Melbourne Cup in 1971 with Silver Knight, shared an interesting insight about a predicament that might be awaiting Stepitup in the Committee’s Prize.
“I remember I used to ride a very good weight-for-age horse called Game. I won 24 races with him, but as hard as he tried, he could never win a handicap race,” said Marsh.
“It’s just a different tempo. They go slow and those horses carrying those big weights just can’t sprint.”
In saying this, Marsh is not ruling out Stepiup’s incredible will to win making light of these adversities and trumping up his adversaries again on Sunday, but is hoping at least one of his trio will be around to thwart it this time around.
