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With two more months to go before the running of the Group 1 Singapore Derby (1800m) on 21 July, trainer Tim Fitzsimmons will be hoping for a good showing from Lightning Strike in the $70,000 Class 3 race over the same trip on Saturday.
The Derby hopeful will likely be having two starts before lining up in the third and last feature race opened only to four-year-olds this year. The two other feature races for four-year-olds are the Group 3 Silver Bowl (1400m) and the Group 2 Stewards' Cup (1600m) that will be run on 9 and 30 June respectively.
After the Class 3 race on Saturday, the four-year-old son of Impending will have his next start in the Stewards' Cup. Coincidentally, Fitzsimmons won both the Stewards' Cup and the Singapore Derby with Golden Monkey, who finished third to Lim's Kosciuszko in the Group 1 Kranji Mile (1600m) three days ago, last year.
With one third in a Class 3 race (1400m) on 30 March and one fourth in another Class 3 race (1600m) on 21 April this season, a good showing over the Derby distance is just what the doctor ordered, before a freshen-up back to the mile of the Stewards' Cup.
Lightning Strike won a strong barrier trial in a time of 1 min 1.57secs under race jockey Ryan Curatolo last Thursday and Fitzsimmons thought he was ready to show his best.
"Yes, Lightning Strike is on a (Singapore) Derby preparation," said the 2022 Singapore champion trainer.
"I was really happy with his trial last week. Ryan rode him and I couldn't have asked for more.
"We will skip the Silver Bowl and he'll go to the Stewards' Cup, then straight to the (Singapore) Derby. That's the plan.
"He (Lightning Strike) will really appreciate stepping up to 1800m on Saturday and Ryan knows the horse well.
"So I expect a good run but the (Singapore) Derby will be his grand final."
Lightning Strike will have company as Fitzsimmons also fields Saint Tropez and King of Sixty-One in the eight-horse field on Saturday.
It is a strong hand made even stronger, given his trio are in form and they look well suited over 1800m. Fitzsimmons was also bullish about their chances.
"I'm happy with all three horses. The race suits them," he continued.
"King Of Sixty-One (x Gutaifan) won well at his last start (in a Class 4 race over 1600m on 27 April) and trialled well (finished second to Lightning Strike) last week.
"Obviously it's (Saturday) a tougher race where he steps up from Class 4 to Class 3, but he's in good form. He hasn't ran a bad race and (jockey) Bernardo (Pinheiro) is a good frontrunning jockey, so it's nice to have him on.
"I thought Saint Tropez ran really well at his last start (finished sixth to Cavalry in a Class 2 race over 1600m on 4 May). He got too far back but finished off really nicely.
"The longer the better for him (Saint Tropez) and (jockey) Daniel (Moor) will jump on; so it's all good."
Fitzsimmons also reflected on a frustrating Kranji Mile with his three runners Dream Alliance, Golden Monkey and Raising Sixty-One finishing second, third and fourth respectively in the $1 million Group 1 showpiece.
"They all ran really well and couldn't do much more, apart from winning the race obviously," he said.
"The barrier (10) didn't help Golden Monkey. We always knew he would get back but he didn't have a heap of luck.
"Raising Sixty-One got held up a little bit as well and did his best work late.
"Dream Alliance was fantastic. He continued to improve.
"To do that at set-weight (conditions) after running second in the (Group 1) (Singapore) Gold Cup (over 2000m on 11 November) at handicap conditions was testament to his improvement. Also, having a world-class jockey (Mark Zahra) on him helped.
"I can't fault any of their runs and they are all in a good spot.
"We will let the dust settle before looking at where to next. There are a few options for all of them actually, but we'll decide in the next few weeks."
