Asif keeps Ghalib on Cup trail

Steven Burridge felt a sense of deja-vu when the field for the $100,000 Kranji Stakes A (1,200m) on July 7 came out.

The same protagonists in that four-horse cat-and-mouse affair on June 16 were back for a re-match, including the winner, the Australian trainer’s ward Ghalib.

Runner-up and beaten hot favourite Golden Monkey will look to exact revenge while So Hi Class (third) and General Command (distant fourth) also roll the dice again, albeit they both still face the same stiff task.

Told more entries were needed, Burridge cast a glance at his yard and did some rethinking.

Asif was nearing his racing comeback since he underwent a chip operation to his knee after his last-start unplaced finish in January.

The veteran handler had been in two minds, but the numbers game won the day.

He threw the two-time winning son of Per Incanto in to save the race – and his better-fancied stablemate Ghalib. Both are raced by the Al-Arabiya Stable.

“I’m glad they’re racing or it would have been six weeks between runs to the Lion City Cup for Ghalib,” said Burridge.

Ghalib’s Holy Grail is the Group 1 Lion City Cup (1,200m) on July 28, but one prep run falling by the wayside could prove costly.

“You cannot keep the fitness up in a box,” said Burridge.

Besides, he felt it was not an inopportune time to bring Asif back to the races.

“That race was falling away, and I entered Asif. He needed a start, anyway,” he said. “If they didn’t run the race, there was no other Class 1 race for a while.

“Asif had a chip taken out of his knee. He had no problem since the operation, but I had to make sure he was 100 per cent.

“That’s why I trialled him on Tuesday. He trialled good under a tight hold from Manoel (Nunes), but there wasn’t much in that trial either.”

Right from barrier rise, Asif showed his intentions to take charge, quite literally. Probably fresh from the long break, he shot to the front, but was under a chokehold from Nunes.

It looked almost like it was never the Brazilian jockey’s idea to lead on the five-year-old, as if waiting for someone else to take over so they could get a cart instead.

That cue was finally answered by Tantheman (Ryan Curatolo), who was not in a rush either, but found himself landing in front by default. He went on to take the trial by 1½ lengths from Fortune Star (Bruno Queiroz) with Asif third another ½-length away.

The pedestrian time of 1min 3.46sec mirrored the reluctance from most runners to lead.

With 50.5kg allotted to Asif at his first-up run, Nunes was always going to give way to a lighter rider come race day.

Burridge could have picked among a few of the more experienced lightweight riders, but plumped for his own apprentice instead, Sazali Ramli – still winless since his comeback in January.

“Sazali rides Asif in trackwork. So I gave him the ride,” he said.

“There weren’t many other lightweight jockeys around.”

In any case, Nunes was always committed to stable banner Ghalib.

The five-time Singapore champion jockey turned in a masterclass on the I Am Invincible four-year-old at his last start when drawing Golden Monkey into a trap.

However, Burridge is aware it may be a case of “once bitten, twice shy”, for Tim Fitzsimmons’ stable star, who is likely to start favourite again, nonetheless.

“It’s hard to say if we will get the same pace this time. It all depends,” said Burridge, aware speedster Sky Eye, just transferred to Desmond Koh, has also joined the field.

“If someone else wants to lead, we’ll let him lead.

“It’s an even race. There is a 1½kg swing in weights on Golden Monkey for a 1½-length beating.

“I’m still happy with my horse, he’s trained on well.”

Burridge revealed he may even throw Asif in the Lion City Cup mix, but will wait to see how the race pans out to have a better idea.

Al-Arabiya’s blue and white colours had a solid chance to shine in the Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) with Makin on June 30, but Burridge felt a little let down by the Written Tycoon four-year-old’s third place to Lim’s Saltoro.

“He came into it well on the outside but he peaked on his run. I was a bit disappointed with that,” he said.

“But he’s pulled up great, and we’ll press on to the Derby.”

The Group 1 Singapore Derby (1,800m) is the most coveted of the three four-year-old races and will be run on July 21.

It is also one of the rare feature races to have eluded Burridge in his 20 years training at Kranji.

manyan@sph.com.sg