By Larry Foley, Singapore Turf Club
Trainer Michael Clements will be a busy man this Sunday with 15 horses from his stable nominated for the races at Kranji and one, Celavi, jumping on a plane to South Korea.
The Polytrack specialist has been invited by the Korean Racing Authority to represent Singapore in the KRA KRW 1 billion ($1.04 million) Group 3 Korea Sprint (1200m) at the Seoul Racecourse on September 4.
According to the Zimbabwean-born trainer, Celavi leaves in terrific order.
“She’s going really well,” said Clements on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ve had her in work that long, so it’s pretty straightforward whether she’s right or not right.
‘The weight got her two starts back on the turf and things didn’t go her way in the (Group 1) Lion City (Cup). The wet turf track didn’t help that day and it got a bit hectic early.”
Clements does not have turf to worry about in South Korea but there is some concern over the infamous ‘thick’ sand at the Seoul Racecourse.
“It is an unknown,” said the naturalised Singaporean.
“But I’ve made some enquiries and it’s thicker than what we have at Kranji but it’s not as deep as some people think it is.
“She will work and have a final gallop on the sand and (jockey) Louis (-Philippe Beuzelin) – he heads there on Wednesday (August 31) – will have a good idea whether or not she handles the surface before race day.
“But I actually think the biggest query is the distance. She may need it easy early to see out a strong 1200m on that track.”
And what of her 12 opponents, of which three others are contenders from UK, Hong Kong and Japan?
“I think the Japanese horse (Raptus) has to be respected as they always seem to travel well, but he is lightly-raced,” said Clements.
“The local horses definitely have an advantage being familiar with the track conditions but both the English horse (Annaf) and the horse from Hong Kong (Computer Patch) will go well if they handle the sand.”
After a few aborted plans to travel with horses overseas, Clements is very much looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m going to enjoy the experience,” he said.
“Obviously the opportunity to travel internationally previously didn’t eventuate so I’m looking forward to heading to South Korea on Monday (August 29) to oversee her work and I think I have the right horse.”
