Friday, 3 August 2012: The apprentice Zulkifli Zuriman with his 2kg claim can win the feature open handicap of the card tonight at Kranji on the polytrack.
He will pilot
Daad's The Way 
for the Bruce Marsh stable in the seventh race on the card, a S$75K Open Benchmark 67 over 1700m.
I like the weight turnaround after the Zuriman claim that it will get from the form rival and likely heavily backed Joao Moreira mount in The Cinderella Man.
Daad's The Way is an already four-time winner on the poly and has won up to 1700m and placed at 1800m.
Last start he was a tad stiff in Class Four over 1700m on the poly under 58kg for senior rider Opie Bosson.
The way the seven-year-old gelding found the line from the back, after copping some early interference, was a real eyecatcher.
He was beaten just over a length by a rival again tonight that he gave 2kg in The Cinderella Man, so with his claim down to 53.5kg the swing is an appealing 4.5kg.
Form analysis bettors will take that every day and night at Kranji plus Daad's The Way has a handy barrier too and Zuriman, who has won three races so far, should get every opportunity.
The prior start for Daad's The Way saw him finish a game fourth beaten a length, also in Class Four under 58kg on the poly, with the winner being Vaya Condios and it has finished third and won again (in Class Three) since.
Go back four starts and Daad's The Way won a Class Four over a mile on the poly under 56kg by half a length with the runner up Sacred Emblem very relevant.
It has since won a Class Four and gone a couple of honest races either side.
I see a sixth career win coming up for Daad's The Way and a fourth for Zuriman whose confidence has increased tenfold since he finally got some wins on the board.
The Cinderella Man is an obvious chance even if up in weight and class because his poly form is super and Moreira has such a good record on him (four rides for two wins, a second and a tenth).
Interestingly the wins ands placing came on poly and the miss on turf.
Laurie Laxon trains The Cinderella Man and he is sharing the leaderboard at the moment in the trainer's premiership, which is turning out to be an epic contest.
The son of Pentire is a late maturing gelding and will be having just his twentieth start tonight as a recently turned five-year-old.
Excuse My Friends has not win since coming to Singapore and on the poly has raced four times for no dividends paid but that is misleading.
His last start fifth in a Kranji Stakes C over 1800m at 56.5kg on the poly saw him close well the final 100m and tonight after a 2kg claim will be dangerous at 55kg.
I have his two previous runs on the poly as useful efforts too and what he meets this evening is hardly going to scare the formerly called Excuse My French.
An example is that two starts ago in Class Three he ran a decent race behind Dujardin and it next time out ran a ripper albeit distant fifth in the G1 Emirates Singapore Derby.
The only other poly start for the gelding returned a fifth this time last year over 1700m, so he does cope on the all weather.
He is a four-race winner in Australia and two of them came at Listed level plus stamina is not an issue having scored up to 2100m.
The rest of the small feature field tonight have never won on the poly and while some have placed it does overall strengthen the chances of the top two selected.
Positive Thinking being an Argentinean bred will stay a middle trip and has been consistent since coming to Singapore.
His nine starts have yielded just one win but also five placings and a fourth plus his two misses if you could call them that have resulted in fifths each time.
Four runs on the poly have returned three seconds and a fifth while the most he has ever been beaten is two lengths on the all weather surface.
Daad's The Way can show them a clean pair of legs at the finish here with The Cinderella Man sure to be punching hard at the finish, while the value is in the other claimer in the race Excuse My Friends.
Enjoy the apprentice versus master battle.
