October laps up wet track

The connections of October must be getting fed up hearing the words “better luck next time”.

Sure, it is said in good faith but it must rankle the nerves of trainer Stephen Gray and members of the Falcon Racing No. 7 Stable, who own the gelding.

But, then again, it is hard to sidestep the truth and the truth of the matter is that October deserves better.

Well, things could change for the better should October succeed in bringing his latest trial form to the races.

Yes, he was one of six who sprinted over the 1,000m in that solitary trial on Jan 16 and, yes, he did it in style.

Sure, it was raining cats and dogs but it did not seem to bother October.

Breaking from the gates in the back stretch, he allowed Con Speranza, the mount of Marc Lerner, and later One Zero One (Faiz Khair) to battle for the early lead.

From his vantage position in third spot and just a length behind the leading pair, Matthew Kellady – the rider of October – could witness the battle going on upfront.

And it did not bother him, too – not one bit. So he sat there, snug as a bug in a rug, and timed his run to perfection.

He said “go” at the 250m mark and October took off.

They had the lead at the furlong mark and coasted in to beat Con Speranza by half-a-length.

Rattling home to claim third spot was Navy Seals, the mount of Benny Woodworth.

A three-year-old chestnut, October covered the trip in 1min 01.36sec, which was a more than decent time considering the sloshy and sloppy conditions of the Polytrack.

So it must have been, when returning to the stable, Kellady would have had only good things to report to Gray. And he would not have been exaggerating.

On the day, October had run a good trial.

Seemingly, he had finished with plenty more in the tank and, if he unloads it on his rivals at his next start, it could be a photo-taking occasion for his connections.

They missed out on a photo opportunity by a whisker on Dec 30, when October was beaten by Seamlessly. The margin was a nose.

It came on the back of another second placing on Dec 9.

That day, when October was backed down to $19 at the betting windows, he could not cope with Gun’s finishing burst and went down by slightly over two lengths.

A New Zealand-bred by Ocean Park, October has raced four times at Kranji for two seconds and a third.

He deserves his day in the sun and it could come sooner rather than later.

While two-time winner Con Speranza did well to hold down second spot, mention must go to Navy Seals, who finished in third place.

He was hesitant out of the chute and was near last when the runners made that sweeping left-handed turn on the far side.

But up in the saddle, Woodworth seemed hardly perturbed.

Holding his mount together, he pushed Navy Seals forward at the 700m and, by the time they straightened for the run home, he had slotted Navy Seals into third spot – and widest of the lot.

Although not able to catch the leading pair of October and Con Speranza, he was doing his best work over the final 100m.

A three-year-old, Navy Seals has fired blanks in seven previous Kranji efforts.

But he is better than that. Indeed, trainer Tan Kah Soon has put him through the wringer hoping to extract something extra from the youngster.

So far, no good. But things could change. Navy Seals won a trial on Dec 26. Coupled with the effort on Jan 16, we should see improvement at his next race start.

So, keep him on your shortlist. He is the first reserve in Race 8 on Jan 20 and, should he get a chance to race, you may want to include him in the novelty bets. He could make it all worthwhile.

brian@sph.com.sg