Selvan's team toss in serious gallops
On the morning of May 28, Nick Selvan was a busy man trackside - and why not?
The trainer, who is currently sitting second on the premiership table has entered a strong team of 13 for the upcoming Kuala Lumpur races on June 1 and, like his crew, he was up bright and early to watch the bulk of his gallopers being put through their paces.
Names like Prince Lonhro, Uptown Girl and Delilah are some of the horses who could spearhead his assault on the races coming up.
Next in line, God's Gift, Big Bad Mama and Single Warrior are the ones to keep a watchful eye on.
Taking it from the top, the work put in by Prince Lonhro was the most impressive.
The son of Lonhro did not break any speed records but he did the 600m in a nice time of 40.2sec. If anything, it would have told Selvan and track-watchers that he was holding the form which saw him record the second of his two wins at his last start on May 11.
Granted, that was over the Perak Turf Club's 1,300m.
But we know from his race records that he is very much at home at Sungai Besi. In 10 starts at Kranji when prepared by Donna Logan, a second place was his best showing.
At his fifth Malaysian outing, at Sungai Besi on Feb 16, he did not give his rivals a whiff of his withers. He romped in by 5¾ lengths.
Prince Lonhro may not yet be "royalty" in racing circles, but he is still a five-year-old and, quite definitely a work in progress.
One that is getting on in years but is not yet ready to lie down is Uptown Girl.
An eight-year-old mare, she worked well, running the 600m in 41sec after some serious cantering on the yielding track.
The New Zealand-bred by Shamoline Warrior came close to putting together a seventh victory on May 17.
Alas, it was not to be. Even though there was no economy in effort, she found one to beat in rank outsider Roger Roger, who charged home to win that 1,300m contest for Class 5A gallopers at Sungai Besi by 1¼ lengths.
That day, her connections would have screamed themselves hoarse as, at the 100m mark, their lady looked like she was going to bring it home.
Uptown Girl goes over the shorter 1,020m on June 1. The jump-and-run races may not be her forte as five of her six wins have been in races over 1,200m and longer.
But, in her defence, we saw her sprint hard on April 5 when she beat Diamond Ring by 1½ lengths in a race over the short and sharp 1,150m.
So, keep her on your shortlist and watch for her when she lines up in Race 11 on June 1.
Her trackwork does suggest that she has the form to turn in a good showing.
Then there was Delilah. She would have warmed Selvan's heart when she turned in a good gallop, running the 60m in 39.8sec.
Until racing shut down in Singapore on Oct 5, 2024, Delilah was under the care of trainer Leslie Khoo who saddled her to three victories.
That last win was in a 1,000m race at Kranji on Aug 25.
To date, she has had four starts for Selvan and the last two were over the 1,300m.
Selvan has picked a 1,020m race for Delilah and, if she can bring her training form to the races, she could be something else.
Among his remaining three horses, Big Bad Mama clocked the fastest time in 38.4sec, while Single Warrior and God's Gift did the 600m in 41.6sec and 42sec respectively.
Admittedly, at eight years of age, Big Bad Mama is getting long in the tooth, but Selvan has been meticulous in getting the mare ready for her next assignment.
Indeed, it was as recent as May 20 that he sent her to the trials where she acquitted herself well, running second to Joey.
Selvan has entered her for Race 8. It is the Metro A sprint over the flying 1,020m.
The daughter of former Singapore 3YO Triple Crown champion Gingerbread Man will be in her element and, if she manages to overcome her outermost alley in 10, do what she does best in her races - which is to run like the hounds of hell are after her - she might just give her rivals something to chase.
brian@sph.com.sg
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
17 hours ago
- CNA
Crusaders back on top after edging Chiefs in Super Rugby final
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch on Saturday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history got back to title-winning ways after missing the playoffs last season. "We had a shocking year last year but we're back at the top," said flyhalf Reihana, who was named Player of the Match. "Just so stoked to be a part of this team... lucky we've got some world-class players that we're able to rely on in those crunch moments." The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to defeat in the final for the third straight year. "I think it was a classic final, two good teams going at it, small margins," said Chiefs skipper Luke Jacobson. "I felt like we had some really good attack when we got into their half. We put some good pressure on them but we just didn't play enough footy down there." The contest between two New Zealand heavyweights was predicted to be an arm-wrestle and so it proved with big collisions, a ferocious battle at the breakdown and accurate tactical kicking. Crusaders skipper David Havili was sent to the sin bin in the 11th minute for a high tackle on Emoni Narawa and the Chiefs cashed in when prop Dyer crashed over for a converted try. The lead lasted until the 26th minute when All Black Taylor broke off maul on the 22 and raced down the touchline to open the scoring for the Crusaders. Home flyhalf Reihana converted and kicked two penalties in six minutes around the half-hour mark to delight the sellout crowd and open up a 13-7 lead. The Chiefs hit back just before the break when fullback Stevenson went over for a try in the corner but Damian McKenzie failed to nail the conversion from wide out and the Crusaders retained a 13-12 lead at halftime. The physicality was unrelenting in the second half with McKenzie coming in for particular attention from the Crusaders and the slight flyhalf missed a long-range penalty which would have put the Chiefs ahead in the 55th minute. The Chiefs then held up Christian Lio-Willie over the line to repel the Crusaders after 25 phases of attack to keep the match a one-point affair. McKenzie was caught in possession and stripped of the ball under the posts in the 66th minute but the Crusaders again came away without points as scrumhalf Noah Hotham was penalised for offside. A dominant scrum earned the Crusaders a penalty seven minutes from time and Reihana slotted home the kick to score the first points of the second half and give his team enough of a cushion to extend their perfect home playoff record to 32 matches. The Crusaders have now won 13 full editions of Super Rugby, including three in the last four years, as well as two New Zealand-only versions played in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID pandemic.
CNA
18 hours ago
- CNA
Crusaders edge Chiefs to win another Super Rugby title
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch on Saturday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to defeat in the final for the third straight year. The contest between two New Zealand heavyweights was predicted to be an arm-wrestle and so it proved with big collisions, a ferocious battle at the breakdown and accurate tactical kicking. Crusaders skipper David Havili was sent to the sin bin in the 11th minute for a high tackle on Emoni Narawa and the Chiefs cashed in when prop Dyer crashed over for a converted try. The lead lasted until the 26th minute when All Black Taylor broke off maul on the 22 and raced down the touchline to open the scoring for the Crusaders. Home flyhalf Reihana converted and kicked two penalties in six minutes around the half-hour mark to delight the sellout crowd and open up a 13-7 lead. The Chiefs hit back just before the break when fullback Stevenson went over for a try in the corner but Damian McKenzie failed to nail the conversion from wide out and the Crusaders retained a 13-12 lead at halftime. The physicality was unrelenting in the second half with McKenzie coming in for particular attention from the Crusaders and the slight flyhalf missed a long-range penalty which would have put the Chiefs ahead in the 55th minute. The Chiefs then held up Christian Lio-Willie over the line to repel the Crusaders after 25 phases of attack to keep the match a one-point affair. McKenzie was caught in possession and stripped of the ball under the posts in the 66th minute but the Crusaders again came away without points as scrumhalf Noah Hotham was penalised for offside. A dominant scrum earned the Crusaders a penalty seven minutes from time and Reihana slotted home the kick to score the first points of the second half and give the home side enough of a cushion to get over the line. The Crusaders have now won 13 full editions of Super Rugby, including three in the last four years, as well as two New Zealand-only versions played in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID pandemic.
Straits Times
18 hours ago
- Straits Times
Crusaders edge Chiefs to win another Super Rugby title
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final in Christchurch on Saturday to claim a 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to defeat in the final for the third straight year. The Crusaders have now won 13 full editions of Super Rugby, including three in the last four years, as well as two New Zealand-only versions played in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID pandemic. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
