Sky's the limit for Lim's Sky Eye

It was way back in 1982 that tennis great Ivan Lendl gave us that famous line.

Showing his disdain for the green, green tennis courts of Wimbledon, he uttered with a scowl: “Grass is for cows.”

He then bowed out of the tournament.

Lendl truly detested the grass surface and, for all his talent, he never did win a Wimbledon title.

Well, Sky Eye the racehorse is not Lendl. Neither is he choosy.

Give him the Polytrack and he will lap it up. Race him on the turf and he will be even happier.

Indeed, such is his versatility that five of his nine career wins have been on grass.

And, come Saturday, he will attempt to make it a sixth win on the lush surface.

Not only that. The son of Per Incanto is gunning for a hat-trick of wins and he put himself right in the picture with a rousing workout on Tuesday morning.

Taken out for that spin by jockey Wong Chin Chuen, who will be back at the races after a long suspension for careless riding, Sky Eye turned on the style when covering the 600m in 39.4sec.

Leading trainer Jason Lim has earmarked Saturday’s feature event – the $100,000 Class 1 Korea Racing Authority Trophy – as the stage for his charge to get the treble. And it is a realistic target.

It is over the sprint trip of 1,200m and it is everything he likes.

Sky Eye’s last win was under similar conditions.

That day on May 20, he beat a Class 1 field over 1,200m on grass.

Ridden by Wong, he made every post a winning one, cruising to the line with almost a length to spare, and in a flashy 1min 09.26sec.

Sure, he had a lighter burden on his back. Just 54.5kg.

He will have to hump 59kg on Saturday but Sky Eye is a big boy – he usually tips the scales in the region of 550kg and more.

So, he should be able to shoulder 59kg over the short and sharp trip.

Among those who would like to dispute the fact is stablemate General Command.

The rising star was also out on the training track and he came away unblemished.

General Command tossed in a 41.4sec workout under champion jockey Manoel Nunes.

He did it unextended and pulled up full of running.

The exciting sprinter has been a revelation in the 2023 season and he is another red-hot runner from Lim’s yard.

Indeed, come Saturday, few will bat an eyelid should Lim saddle the quinella in the $100,000 event.

A four-year-old, General Command has been to the races six times in 2023. On four occasions, he whipped his rivals convincingly.

He finished second in his two other starts, proving he is one for the future.

One could say this will be his biggest test.

But, from what we have seen of him, he should be up to the task, especially with only 53kg on his back.

In his last start on June 24, General Command was backed down to a prohibitive $8.

But, on the day, he was obliged to race wide.

And, when the battle began in the straight, he could not reel in The August, who led from start to finish. But we know he is better than that.

When posting his fourth victory at Kranji on June 3, General Command was untouched over the concluding 300m and he ran away to beat I Am Sacred by almost three lengths.

Yes, all his wins were on the Polytrack. But General Command is not turned off by grass.

Early in his career, he ran a game second to Silent Is Gold over the 1,200m on the turf. In that race, he clocked 1min 08.98sec. That was pretty fast.