This Sunday, Golden Monkey is all out to repeat the amazing feat that nemesis, Lim’s Kosciuszko, pulled off a year ago in the $300,000 Group 1 Lion City Cup (1200m).
Also a contender in the third Leg of the STC Super Sprint series this year, Lim’s Kosciuszko took out the previous edition of the Lion City Cup after he won the Group 1 Singapore Derby over 1800m in a space of only four weeks.
Now, the 2023 Singapore Derby winner Golden Monkey is in a similar position, albeit he had one more week to freshen up for the feature race on Sunday as the two Group 1 races are held five weeks apart this year.
The Tim Fitzsimmons-trained gelding also placed third in the Lion City Cup last year as a three-year-old – when ridden by jockey Mark Zahra – with excuses not finishing closer to Lim’s Kosciuszko. But with Golden Monkey ‘a year older and a year wiser’ now and a Group 1 win under his belt, his ability to achieve the feat should not be underestimated.
In addition, Hong Kong-based Australian jockey Hugh Bowman – who rode Golden Monkey to victory in the Singapore Derby on July 23 – will again be onboard the son of Star Turn.
But while Josh McLoughlan, part-owner and principal of Jig Bloodstock was confident that their stable star is ready to show he is the real deal at weight-for-age level, he was still aware of the pecking order at Kranji.
“I don’t like to compare my bloke to Lim’s Kosciuszko,” said McLoughlan, who also purchased the Singapore Derby winner as a raced maiden from Australia for the Jig Racing/Elvin Stable.
“He’s (Lim’s Kosciuszko) the ‘champ’ and as they say, you can’t be the champ until you beat the champ. He’s two-nil up on us at the moment.
“In saying that, we have matured since this race last year. In my opinion, if we drew a better gate (drawn in barrier six) and had some luck in the running, we may run him (Lim’s Kosciuszko) to a neck.
“We also learned a lot about Golden Monkey during his Derby campaign.
“Tim has done a huge job with this horse. I’m not sure (if) any other trainer in Singapore would have had the patience or the skills to get into his (Golden Monkey’s) head space. He found out what made this horse tick.
“We aren’t as one dimensional as this time last year. He can drop back underneath the jockey now, so we don’t have to rely on pace or barriers to be a winning chance over any distance.”
Of the plan to go straight for the Lion City Cup after the victory in the Singapore Derby, McLoughlan mentioned it only became a serious option after the 2022 champion three-year-old looked to be ‘champing at the bit’ after his first Group 1 win in July.
“The horse was always going to be the one to tell us if the Lion City (Cup) was a chance,” he explained.
“When Tim called me to say he (Golden Monkey) came back to the stables after the Derby like he hadn’t had a run, we knew it (Lion City Cup run) was on. The horse demanded we run him.
“To be fair, he was fresh going into the Four-Year-Old series. While Tim prepared him with the Derby as his grand final, he wasn’t over-raced, so there’s always a chance to run in this race.
“He’s (Golden Monkey) such an athlete. He can run the times needed for a race like this and the team has done a great job to have him coiled and ready for the Lion City Cup.
“His track rider, Kali (Kalimutha Ganesen), has been a very important cog in the wheel by getting him ready for big days like this. Tim asked for 12s or 13s (seconds timings for gallops) and you get exactly that from Kali.”
McLoughlan was also ecstatic that Bowman – who went back to Hong Kong after riding in Australia last weekend – was again available to ride Golden Monkey.
“Hugh loved his last trip and we (the owners) loved having him here,” he said.
“He stayed for a couple of days after the Derby win and it was great for all of us to celebrate with him. There aren’t many bigger stars in the racing game than Hugh, so it’s a real honour to have him back.
“It’s no secret that Hugh will ride him off the pace in the Lion City Cup. He (Bowman) doesn’t need instructions, but we all know there will be plenty of pace on.
“If they go super quick upfront, they’d better be looking over their shoulders as Golden Monkey and Hughie will be coming hard late.”
