3 minute read
Champion trainer Mark Walker is grateful for the retiming of the $85,000 Class 2 race over 1000m this Friday, or he would have had two idle horses in their boxes this weekend.
With insufficient entries by closing time, the race, which was originally slated for January 4, was on the cusp of being cancelled, but it was saved by the Singapore Turf Club's decision to reschedule it to the Friday meeting instead.
Walker had long locked in that Polytrack speed dash for his Red Rover and Fulife King duo. Had it been scrapped, they would have faced a long downtime at the stables, which would have upset their training programme.
"I've got to thank the Singapore Turf Club for recalling the race. They did not have enough entries for the Saturday meeting and it's great they are running it on Friday," said Walker who claimed a third Singapore champion trainer title (after 2015 and 2017) last year.
"Or else, both Red Rover and Fulife King would have had to wait for another suitable race, especially for Fulife King. The 1000m is his best distance and there aren't a lot of them around, the next Class 3 race over 1000m is at the beginning of February.
"I know he's a bit out of his grade in Friday's race, but he's drawn one and he's got a light weight. So at least he's got two things in his favour.
"As for Red Rover, he's facing a big jump from Class 3 to Class 2 and he's drawn wide (nine). It won't be easy, Lim's Dream will be hard to beat and there are some other good horses in the race as well.
"So, I can't say I'm very confident, but he's fit and healthy – just like Fulife King – and he deserves to have a crack."
A former Sydney one-time winner (1200m at Rosehill) for Team Hawkes and the Waikato Stud, Red Rover didn't arrive in Singapore without some respiratory issues, but after a tie-back operation, the O'Reilly five-year-old went on a rampage, reeling off a three-in-a-row, the latest coming in a Class 3 race over 1000m on November 3.
"Red Rover has thrived since the tie-back, but the thing about tie-backs is we never know when these problems can come back," said Walker who is currently at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast.
"So far so good, and we can only hope he keeps running well. Because of horses like him, I haven't mapped out anything for him, I'll just take it race by race."
It's veteran jockey Azhar Ismail, his winning partner at his first two wins, who will jump back on him this Friday while Walker has entrusted the reins on Fulife King to his new apprentice jockey Hakim 'Aiman' Kamaruddin.
"Azhar knows Red Rover well and it's good he's a lightweight jockey who can ride him at that low weight (52.5kgs)," said Walker.
"Aiman will ride Fulife King. He rode his first winner last week (January 1) and that can only help the young man's confidence."