Roda Robot gearing up for a hat-trick

It took him a while but Roda Robot is finally shaping up to be something special.

Twice already in his last two starts – on Nov 25 and Dec 9 – he has smacked his rivals.

And, when racing action resumes on Dec 30, he could make it a hat-trick of victories.

Now, surely that will be something special for Jason Ong and the Warplan Racing Stable.

You could call it the icing on the cake.

After all, Ong has sewn up the 2023 trainer’s title and all that is left for him is to end the season with – well, a show of robotic consistency.

And he has an “iron horse” for the job. Over the last two months, beginning Oct 28, Roda Robot has been a changed horse.

He has been licking his lips and relishing his races.

LIke that day in late October, he had to settle for second to the Tim Fitzsimmons-trained Thunder in a race over the 1,700m.

That was after he was shouted the winner at the 300m mark.

Then, at his next start on Nov 4, he took third to In All His Glory and Red Dragon in a race over the mile.

Right now, all that is water under the bridge.

Roda Robot is shooting for his third win in a row and, in preparation for that assignment, Ong sent him out for a gallop on Dec 26 and he did not put a hoof wrong.

If anything, the four-year-old relished the crisp morning air and while his 600m gallop was done in a modest time of 40.1sec, it should hold him in good stead in that 1,800m race on Dec 30.

Also showing form which they should carry into their assignments coming up were three racers from Steven Burridge’s yard.

Makin cantered one round before clapping on the pace to run the 600m in 37.3sec.

Not to be outdone, Stop The Water went a tad faster. He ran out the trip in 36.7sec when paced by stablemate, Bakeel.

Then, to round it off nicely, there was Winning Stride. Like Makin, he, too, did a spot of cantering before running the 600m in 38.9sec.

All three are in fine fettle and, if they can reproduce that form on Dec 30, it could be a memorable closing day of the season for the Burridge camp who, at the races on Dec 17, pulled off a remarkable $659 winning coup with Lim’s Dreamwalker.

But back to the action coming up on Dec 30 and we have Winning Stride and Makin both wanting to make amends for having been beaten into second place last time.

Makin, who is down to contest the Class 4 race over the 1,200m, is shaping up to be a good horse to have in the yard.

After putting together a nice win on Oct 21, when beating Jin Sakamoto by an easy two lengths, Makin was at the losing end of a photo-finish at his last start on Dec 17.

That day, in a 1,400m race on the turf, when sent off as the $30 third pick in the sprint, Makin looked like he would make it an all-the-way affair until he got swamped and pipped on the line by Ace Of Diamonds, who took the honours by a nose.

Makin’s misery was compounded by the fact that his rider, Yusoff Fadzli, dropped his whip approaching the 300m mark.

As for Winning Stride, he, too, fell short at his last start.

But, unlike Makin, he was spanked good and proper when beaten by Roda Robot.

That was the seventh occasion – and the fourth time in a row leading up to that last start – that he had to play second fiddle and it must have been painful for his connections.

But Winning Stride is a handsome-looking grey who is up to the task in Class 4 company. So, stick with him in the Class 4 Division 2 race over 1,800m. He could send you home happy.

The same applies to Stop The Water (Novice event over 1,200m).

His work on Dec 26 did suggest that he is holding on to that last-start winning form. That day, Dec 2, he had fun with his rivals in that Restricted Maiden event.

He toyed with them, holding second spot for most of the 1,200m trip before being let loose by apprentice Rozlan Nazam at the 150m mark.

In one swift move, he stopped the leader in his tracks before eliminating all challengers to win by two clear lengths.

That was only his second race start and right now Stop The Water does look like he is the real deal – and one who should pass his first test in open company with flying colours.

brian@sph.com.sg