Just six weeks after Super Salute gave Jason Lim his first group win as a trainer in the Group 2 EW Barker Trophy (1400m) on April 23, the much improved Sky Eye looked well-placed to clinch a second silverware for him in the $110,000 Group 3 Kranji Sprint (1200m) on Saturday.
The Per Incanto six-year-old had been a revelation since joining the Lim’s yard as a three-time Polytrack winner back in September 2021. With two recent Class 1 wins under his belt, Sky Eye looked the standout on paper.
A nine-time winner, Sky Eye will carry the top weight of 57kgs in the first Leg of the STC Super Sprint series, while giving 2021 Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) winner and third placegetter in the Group 1 Kranji Mile on May 20, Mr Malek, as well as last year’s Lion City Cup runner-up King Arthur both 1.5kgs in weight.
Yet, Lim thought that Sky Eye looked well in under the conditions, given his recent vein of winning form at the top level.
“We are actually in well at the conditions,” explained Lim after he watched Sky Eye galloped on Tuesday morning.
“Yes, he is the topweight, but apart from King Arthur (carrying 54.5kgs off a rating of 104), we are better off against the rest of the field on ratings – including Silent Is Gold who carries 53kgs – if it was a handicap race.
“We planned this race from about six weeks ago and while he did get an extra kilo for his last-start win (in a Class 1 race over 1200m on May 20), his winning form will hold him in good stead.
“He kept his form. Although (jockey) Bernardo (Pinheiro) will ride him on Saturday as CC (Wong Chin Chuen) is suspended, I had him (Wong) galloped Sky Eye this morning as he knows the horse well having ridden him to his last two wins.
“The feedback from CC was very positive. He’s (Sky Eye) maintained his form and his work this morning was similar to his work before his last-start win. Hopefully he gets some luck on Saturday and becomes my second Group winner!”
Of the improvement in the Gan Gim Chuan-owned gelding in the last 12 months, Lim reckoned a healthier and happier horse has made the difference.
“He overcame some (throat) issues and more importantly, has put on around 30kgs since joining my stable,” the Singaporean conditioner explained.
“It took a while, but day by day, week by week, he was putting on good condition and it showed on the track.
“After he showed us he could handle the turf by winning the Class 3 over 1400m (on May 21, 2022), he had more options going forward.
“Right now, he is at his peak and 1200m on turf in a race like this looks ideal for him to win at Group level. He’s better than just honest now, so he gets his chance.
“And at his rating (100), winnable races are harder to find. We will play it race-by-race but if he wins or runs well here and pulls up good, he will have a crack in the next two Legs in the Sprint series.”
The newly named STC Super Sprint series this year replaces the former Singapore Sprint Series that was discontinued in 2019. It consists of the Group 3 Kranji Sprint, the Group 3 Rocket Man Sprint (1200m) on August 6, and the Group 1 Lion City Cup on August 27.
If Sky Eye runs in all three Legs and makes a clean sweep of the Sprint series, Mr Gan will also be entitled to a bonus prizemoney of $100,000.
Besides that, Lim was also looking forward to General Command taking on Class 2 company for the first time on Saturday in an $85,000 race over 1100m on the Polytrack.
“He’s a nice horse and I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet,” said Lim of the four-year-old son of Shalaa.
“We gave him a well-deserved four-week rest after his last-start win (in a Class 3 race over 1200m on the Polytrack on April 1) and he had a good trial last week (finished first in trial no. 4 on May 25 in the time of 59.05secs) for (Jockey) Manoel (Nunes).
“It will be a good test against (trainer) Tim’s (Fitzsimmons) horse (Illustrious) but he’s (General Command) unbeaten on the Poly(track) and is ready to go.”
Of his other runners on the day, Lim thought that Cosmic Dancer can win the $50,000 Class 4 race over 1100m and also reported that Super Salute is on track for the Group 3 Silver Bowl (1400m) on Sunday week.
“Cosmic Dancer (x Vancouver) is at the top of Class 4 now (rated at 66) but he is a real bread-and-butter horse. He didn’t cost much and won his last two starts with Bernardo, so hopefully he can add another (win).
“Super Salute (x I Am Invincible) trials this Thursday (June 1). It will be his final hit-out before the Silver Bowl. We’ve kept him ticking over and I’m looking forward to see how he goes next Sunday.”
The Silver Bowl is the first Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge and the next two Legs that follow are the Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1600m), which will take place on July 2 and the Group 1 Singapore Derby (1800m) that will be run on July 23.
