Harry casts vote towards Minister over Mister

By Michael Lee, Singapore Turf Club

Top guns Minister and Mr Malek clash for the first time this Sunday, but their regular partner A’Isisuhairi Kasim said there wasn’t really any tossing and turning at night over who to pick.

The Malaysian jockey is riding his Group 1 Kranji Mile (1600m) winner Minister in the $100,000 Kranji Stakes A over 1400m while Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) winner Mr Malek will for the first time be teaming up with Wong Chin Chuen.

A’Isisuhairi said he did have to make a choice, but the decision towards four-time winner Minister (1400m to 1600m) was all done and dusted some time back, even before the Singapore Derby on July 25 when Mr Malek was the beaten favourite in fourth to Hard Too Think.

While pulling the son of Swiss Ace up, ‘Harry’, as he is better known, already knew he might have just exhausted his last chance to score a Group 1 race on the talented eight-time winner (1200m to 1600m).

“The Derby was my last chance to win a big race on Mr Malek,” said A’Isisuhairi glumly, obviously still not quite over the defeat.

“From the start, I had already discussed with (trainer) Steven (Burridge) that after the Derby, I could not ride him at his next targets, the Raffles Cup and the QEII Cup, as I was committed to Minister.

“I’ve loved these two horses from the day I set foot in Lee Freedman’s (their former trainer) barn. They’re both very, very good horses but I can’t ride both in the same race.

“Up till the Derby, they have been set on a different programme, especially as Minister is not a four-year-old, but we knew all along they would be on a collision course after the Derby.

“Yes, the 1400m might suit Mr Malek better, and I could have ridden him this Sunday, but it doesn’t work out this way. Everybody has to work out what comes up next.

“That’s why I had been working with Minister from Day 1, the whole campaign for more than a year now (since June 2020), first with Lee and now with Donna Logan, leading to the Kranji Mile and now the Singapore Gold Cup.

“More so when Minister is not easy to work with, he’s still tricky to get around. Together with Donna, I’ve worked very hard on this horse.”

The big-race jockey, who, since his formative years as an apprentice jockey, has knocked in at least one Group race win per season (11 all-up with the Kranji Mile the latest), said the seven furlongs were still short of Minister’s best, but the US-bred Street Sense five-year-old’s performance will carry more weight than his first-up run since the Kranji Mile when sixth to Kharisma in a Kranji Stakes A race over 1200m on August 1.

“When Yusoff (Fadzli) rode him in that 1200m race first-up, it was just a warm-up, but this second run will give us a better idea where he is at before the Raffles Cup, even if the 1400m is still on the sharp side,” said A’Isisuhairi.

“I galloped him on the uphill track this morning and he gave me a different feeling. Before the 1200m race, he still didn’t have the fitness level to run a good race and he was mucking around in his work, but he’s a lot fitter now, a lot sharper and more focused.

“Donna leaves it to me on raceday as she knows I know the horse well. In his races, he is the ultimate professional, anyway.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back on him in that lead-up towards the Raffles Cup, QEII Cup and the Gold Cup. Hopefully we can keep him sound right through.”

The Group 1 Raffles Cup (1600m) on September 18 is the next feature race on the cards, followed by the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) on October 16 and the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) on November 14. They formerly made up the three Legs of the Singapore Triple Crown series, which is not at stake in this watered-down feature race calendar this year, but which can still be regarded as Singapore racing’s Holy Trinity.

A’Isisuhairi is a jockey who keeps his word once he casts the die, but one still can’t help wondering if he was happy with his choice for those three majors.

“I believe Minister has a better chance than Mr Malek. He’s a naughty horse, but with so much ability, and he’s more proven over the longer trips,” he said unequivocally.

“He may not have yet won beyond the mile here, but he ran second to Big Hearted in last year’s Gold Cup and second to Top Knight in last year’s QEII Cup.

“Don’t get me wrong, Mr Malek is a top quality horse and I believe he’s still improving. The mile is not an issue as we saw in the Stewards’ Cup, and he should still handle the 1800m even if he lost in the Derby.

“That day, the track was too hard. I would have loved to see where he could have finished if he had a good track – it was just not our day.”

A’Isisuhairi is well aware Sunday’s race won’t come down to a parochial two-horse race, or at any of their future clashes down the road for that matter.

“It’s a 1400m race which will suit a horse like Lim’s Lightning better. He’s drawn one, he’s the horse to beat, no doubt,” said A’Isisuhairi, singling out Daniel Meagher’s Group 1 Lion City Cup (1200m) winner and Kranji Mile runner-up Minister denied by a head.

“There’ll be some speed in the race. Like I said, Minister is a lot brighter now, and even if the trip is not his best, I think he can still run a good race.

“I hope so, as that run will be very important for us compared to the comeback run where the result didn’t really matter.

“A good run, like a second or third, or even a win will tell us we’re on the right track, but if he runs ordinary, we’ll have to see what went wrong and regroup.

“Hopefully, it’ll be the first scenario.”