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Trainer Michael Clements may be cutting it fine, but he hopes his Group 1 Singapore Derby prospect – Cavalry – can show enough at his local debut in the $70,000 Class 3 race over 1400m on Saturday to be a serious player in the 1800m feature race 15 days later.
It was not the ideal preparation but Cavalry – a three-time winner bred in New Zealand - was bought to have a crack at the Singapore Derby before other Group 1 staying races later in the season.
The four-year-old son of Tavistock was purchased by the powerful King Power Stable - of the 2021 Group 1 Kranji Mile winner Minister fame - and given his three wins in Australia were from 1830m to 2200m, including two at listed level, it was clear that connections were aiming high in Singapore.
Cavalry arrived with a rating of 72 points, so he will carry the equal top weight of 57kgs with Wealth Elite and stablemate Karisto, albeit the latter will have Clement's three-kilo claimer Ibrahim Mamat on board. While the 1400m is short of what will be his best trip, Clements had no other options but to get some race fitness under his belt in his audacious Singapore Derby bid.
Yet according to the 2020 Singapore champion trainer, Cavalry is fit and ready to show his best at his rushed Singapore debut.
"It's been a very rushed preparation, but it was a calculated one," said Clements on Thursday.
"The owners paid some good money to find a horse like this. They got him from New Zealand but he won at listed level in Australia and raced at Group 1 level in both Australia and New Zealand.
"With his pedigree and race record, he is best over ground, so the (Group 1) Singapore Gold Cup will be his long-term target. But being a four-year-old, the Derby was always the aim if we could get him ready in time."
While Cavalry may still be four months away from his ultimate goal of the Singapore Gold Cup, which will be run over 2000m on November 11, Saturday's race is still not an easy task. He last ran unplaced in the Group 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) in Te Rapa, New Zealand on February 11 and there was the mandatory quarantine and quick acclimatisation to life in the tropics needed before he could be considered a possible Derby contender.
"We knew time was against us, so we kept him in full work back in New Zealand, so he was pretty much race fit when he got on the plane," explained the Zimbabwean-born conditioner who is now a Singaporean.
"In fact, we trialled him in New Zealand just before he left (finished fourth over 1100m on April 23) with the hope that he wouldn't lose too much condition during his two-week quarantine.
"So while it was rushed, he still had the foundations of a good preparation before he arrived and he has acclimatised very well.
"He's had another two trials since arriving and we gave him a good hit-out at his most recent trial (finished fourth in trial no 4 won by Smart Star on June 28) to get him ready.
"He was keen at both his trials and that was expected over 1000m, but he has nice long strides and covers the ground well."
Besides Cavalry and Karisto, Clements will also saddle Vittoria Perfetta and Fighter in the same race on Saturday. Though Cavalry is first-up with a limited preparation, he still had him as the pick of his quartet.
"I think he (Cavalry) is my best hope," he continued.
"(Jockey) Daniel (Moor) will ride him on Saturday and it's not an overly strong Class 3 field in my opinion.
"Cavalry has the runs on the board in some good races back in New Zealand and Australia, so he looks best suited of my four.
"He's (Cavalry) a straightforward type. He's easy to work with and a very good doer. He doesn't carry a lot of condition and he's fit enough to run well on Saturday."
Going forward, Clements thought the 1800m of the Singapore Derby would be perfect second-up and he is looking forward to some of the big races later in the year.
"The seven furlongs this Saturday is on the short side but regardless, it will be a very good blowout for him heading to the Derby," said Clements, who won the Singapore Derby once with Top Knight in 2020.
"We will see how he gets through this Saturday before finalising the Derby plans - including his jockey - but his ultimate goal is the Gold Cup.
"The other suitable races are the Raffles Cup and the Queen Elizabeth Cup we will see his best over the 2000m of the Gold Cup."
The Group 1 Raffles Cup (1600m) and the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) run on September 23 and October 14 respectively are the first two Legs in the reinstated Singapore Triple Crown series, which culminates with the prestigious Singapore Gold Cup as the final Leg.
