The Star works like he is ready

What or who is going to stop The Star from making it two off the bounce and three wins from his last four starts?

His fans will argue that there is little his rivals can do when the field lines up for the races on Dec 28.

After all, they will say, he is in a rich vein of form and he seems to have taken to his new surroundings like a duck to water. They are right on both counts.

The Star has, undoubtedly, hit a bright patch and he does seem to have found a new lease of life since relocating from Tim Fitzsimmons’ Kranji quarters to the stables at Sungai Besi.

Well two wins from three races do seal the deal and a third from four Selangor starts will not surprise anyone.

As if to appease his fans, the six-year-old was out on the training track on the morning of Dec 24.

If they were watching, they would certainly have raised a cheer for their guy. The Star was, well, one of the morning stars and his run over the 600m – which he did in 37.8sec – would have even swayed some of his doubters.

Yes, it was a good piece of work. Some may even call it a “winning workout”.

But there will still be the naysayers and they will argue that it is not all that clear cut – and they could have a strong argument to back it up.

After all, The Star has scored all of his four wins in Class 5. Fitzsimmons will take credit for two while Lawson Moy will claim those last two successes on Malaysian turf.

So, can the son of Hallowed Crown defy promotion and win that Class 4 race coming up?

Well, he took that last one in Class 5 on Dec 1 comfortably enough – winning by 1½ lengths despite having to race wide in the early part of the 1,150m contest.

So, on the probability scale, Class 4 might not seem too daunting and the 1,100m looks right up his alley.

It was a month ago – on Nov 27 and almost to the day – that we pointed you in the direction of Rich N Powerful.

On the strength of her winning her trial on Nov 26, we said she was on the cusp of a third career win.

Well, it did not come to that. Rich N Powerful took fifth spot in her run on Dec 1 and she found one to beat at her next start on Dec 15.

Well, here is the thing. Do not be too hasty jumping off the mare.

There is a win somewhere in her future and we might just see her beat them all when she tackles the 1,100m in that Class 4 (A) sprint in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 28.

Like The Star, Rich N Powerful was another who caught the eye in her morning hit-out. She ran out the 600m in a fluent 39.7sec and, word from trackwide was that she pulled up without having broken a sweat.

A six-year-old by Dream Ahead, Rich N Powerful has been a good one for trainer Tan Eng Peow.

Twice already, going back to June 30, the mare has beaten the boys.

That last one was a gem. Ridden by the veteran, Saifudin Ismail, Rich N Powerful came off a midfield spot to hit the front and beat Xanthos by a nostril.

She then went on to win that trial on Nov 26 but she could not carry it over to her next start on Dec 1.

Her trainer has picked a winnable sort of race for his girl and with that stylish gallop under her girth, she could pick up a winning cheque.

Another one with a winning chance over the Christmas season has to be Boy Xander.

From Cheng Han Yong’s yard, Boy Xander cruised over the 600m in 38sec.

A last-start winner on Dec 15, the Shamexpress has already had three wins and a second from just nine starts.

His owners, the Good Timing Stable, will be expecting more from their seven-year-old.

But Boy Xander is an enigma. Formerly with Jason Lim at Kranji, Boy Xander scored on debut, beating Elliot Ness over the 1,200m.

That was way back on Feb 27, 2021.

Two starts later, on April 9, 2022, he picked up another winner’s purse before having his last Kranji start on May 28 of that year.

More than 860 days later, on Oct 8, 2024, Boy Xander showed up in a trial at Sungai Besi. He won that one in 1min 00.31sec.

Cheng felt his charge was ready for his Kuala Lumpur debut. It could have been a winning one but he fell short, beaten by Witnessimpact.

However, he made amends when three starts later, on Dec 15, he beat Rich N Powerful by an impressive 6¼ lengths.

There is more where that came from and, if not accorded the respect he is due, he could make his rival pay dearly on Dec 28.

So, be his friend. Stick with him.

brian@sph.com.sg