Maxima looks good for quick double

Nothing stands still at the stables. Although racing will take a breather over the weekend, horses were still out on the training track at Kranji on Tuesday morning doing their thing as trainers kept them on their toes.

And the most impressive of the lot was Maxima.

Prepared by Ricardo Le Grange, Maxima did a strong canter to loosen up before turning on the power to cover the 600m in 37.9sec.

It was an inspiring piece of work from this smart debut winner and he certainly looks good for “two on the trot”.

A German-bred, the six-year-old won first-up at Kranji in style, charging home from just off the pace to collar and consign Grand Avante and Pacific MV to the minor placings.

The handsome chestnut is a horse going places. Just before that debut on Aug 20, he put the writing on the wall with an eye-catching winning trial on Aug 3.

That day, with apprentice Rozlan Nazam in the saddle, he clocked 1min 00.05sec for the Poly 1,000m.

It was a tick over the minute mark and alert racegoers took that as a positive sign, sending him off as the $13 top pick in his first outing.

Maxima will be winning more races for Le Grange and his owner, Edmond Yue. Keep him on your shortlist.

Also catching the eye on the training track were a trio of racers from Donna Logan’s yard.

Yusoff Fadzli, who booted home the Logan-trained Luxury Brand to take the last race on Aug 27, was astride two of those runners.

He worked Montana Flash, who ran out the 600m in 38.2, and Otahuhu in 38.6.

Knippenberg made up the Logan threesome. The two-time winner impressed in his gallop in 38.7 and will be a force to reckon with at his next start.

A smart winner over 1,200m in Novice company on May 20, Knippenberg took a two-month breather before returning to racing on July 23.

That day, when ridden by Manoel Nunes, he had to settle for second to City Gold Star. That race came on the back of a winning trial in 1:00.58.

In his last outing on Aug 13, he was hammered down to $10 favourite. But, on the day, when obliged to race wide for most of the 1,200m trip, he had to settle for third placing behind debut winner Ghalib and runner-up Kick.

Montana Flash has also been a good horse to have in the barn. He can be a handful at the start. But when everything goes right and he jumps on terms with the field, he can be something else.

As for Otahuhu, he is residing with good company and will soon have to prove his worth.

Yet to be seen in a race, he has already put in two good trials. Both times, when ridden by Yusoff, he turned in good showings, finishing less than two lengths behind the winners.

Logan has been patient with her charge, who turned four only on Aug 1. Right now, he looks good to go.

Watch him on debut. A win would not surprise.

Logan and Le Grange aside, Tuesday morning also saw good work put in by the Mahadi Taib-trained Colonel Son.

He impressed with a 38.1 hit-out under Krisna Thangamani.

Already a winner at the trials – that was on Aug 22 – Colonel Son came with a reputation of having scored a win at The Valley in Victoria, Australia. That day, when ridden by Mark Zahra, he led all the way over the 1,200m.

The bay gelding looks a forward sort and Mahadi could have a good one in the yard.

Watch and wait for that debut. It could be Colonel Son leading them home.