Major King makes it look so effortless

If ever you find yourselfin a discussion about runaway winners, you might want to weave Major King into the conversation.

The five-time winner was in scary form at the trials on Aug 15 and, when the dust had settled in the second hit-out of the morning, he had well and truly blitzed his six rivals.

The official margin was 10¼ lengths. It could well have been a dozen lengths or more.

Such was Major King’s hold on the field that his jockey, Marc Lerner, must have wondered – when they were halfway downthe home stretch – if he had, maybe, made a wrong turn somewhere and that he was on a differenttrack from the rest.

As for the also-rans – and that included the very talented Ravalli – they would have felt that they were in a differenttrial altogether.

One without Major King, who was in his own zone.

At the finish, and with Major King being eased in that run to the line, it was not surprising that he clocked a modest 1min 00.65sec for the 1,000m trip.

Out of the racing scene since March, when he finished seventh to Lim’s Kosciuszko in a Kranji Stakes A 1,200m race on the Polytrack, the Per Incanto six-year-old is on the comeback trail.

Indeed, this latest trial was his third in just over a month.

He failed to win the other two, so it would seem that his trainer, Jason Ong, would have been mighty pleased with this latest effort.

The New Zealand-bred gelding was one of the stars of the 2023 season when he put together four wins.

However, the current season has not been good for his owners, the Happy Baby Stable.

Then again, and in his defence, he has only been to the races four times – the last outing being a sprint on March 23.

However, and on the strength of that runaway win at this latest trial, Major King looks to have greatly benefitted from the freshen-up.

Watch him when Ong next sends him to the races.

There is still a win in that frame of his.

We have seen horses who were, in racing jargon, “good things beaten” at their last starts.

Well, there were two at thetrials and both showed promise of better things to come.

Last Supper took out the opening trial in a fighting finish while Cheval Pegasus created a good impression when winning the last of the morning.

Last Supper, with jockey Daniel Moor in the saddle and jumping from the third chute, was unsighted early as Roda Robot (Bruno Queiroz) and Longevity (Rozlan Nazam) went hammer and tongs up front.

It was only 250m from home that Moor spied an opening between a pack of horses.

He pointed Last Supper at it and his mount went into overdrive.

Striding out freely, he found the lead and took the trial by half-a-length.

The Grunt four-year-old has been one of the better ones in trainer James Peters’ yard,having racked up three wins from seven starts.

It could have been four but, in his last race on July 13, the $9 favourite went down by a neck to Pacific Commander in a Class 4 1,100m race on the Polytrack.

He should make amends at his next start.

Cheval Pegasus was also a good thing beaten when, having had to travel wide, he was pipped on the line by Ocean Jupiter in a Restricted Maiden 1,200m turf race on July 28.

It could, and should have been, his maiden win but the Ong-trained three-year-old son of Flying Artie will now have to wait another day.

Having won his trial – by half-a-length and with something in hand under the guidance of title-chasing Queiroz – he seems to be in a good place right now.

And that first win should not be far off. Keep him on your shortlist.

brian@sph.com.sg