SINGAPORE: Dragon Spirit Expected To Loom Large

Friday, 29 June 2012: The Theo Kieser charge Dragon Spirit is looking to extend his winning streak to four in the Open Benchmark 83 this Sunday.

Dragon Spirit Photo by Singapore Turf Club

The three-year-old son of Due Sasso  will be ridden by Danny Beasley and from gate number four should have no difficulty in getting into his stride early despite giving weight to the entire field but one. Dragon Spirit  has won four of his eleven starts but when one considers that three of these have come in his last three starts, it makes him formidable contender.

Dragon Spirit looked extremely impressive in his last start which he won from pillar-to-post and was stretching away as he approached the wire. This will be his sternest test yet but his margins of victory suggest that it will require a special horse to beat him.

That special horse may just be Patrick Shaw's Valevole  who will jump from draw two. After having run second to Birthday Gift , Valevole won his last start in very smart fashion and in a smart time as well.

Valevole is a horse with a very nice, easy action and he quickens like a very good sprinter. In fact, it is through a line with Birthday Gift that it is possible to follow the form between Valevole and Dragon Spirit.

The two are working out almost level with each other on paper and despite the fact that Dragon Spirit seems to have improved from his second to Birthday Gift, it is very hard to separate them at this early stage. More so, considering that Dragon Spirit is giving a kilogram to Valevole.

Emblessed  from Dr Yeoh Kheng Chye's stable is another who is starting to look quite special and is likely to run a lively one too. Like Dragon Spirit, Emblessed is looking for his fourth straight victory and despite what the paper form reads like, it's hard to ignore a horse whose track form is looking the way Emblessed's is. For what it's worth, however, it is possible to pull a form line for Emblessed with Dragon Spirit and Valevole.

Emblessed will carry three kilograms less than what Dargon Spirit will carry and through a common line with Cash Dot Com  and Birthday Gift , Emblessed works out marginally worse off than Valevole and almost level with Dragon Spirit.

It's always intriguing when a talented bunch of thoroughbreds clash for the first time and this contest will likely answer some questions that have possibly been on the minds of the connections for a while now.