No horse has ever won the Group 1 Singapore Airlines International Cup twice but trainer John Moore is brimming with confident hope that the pugilistic Dan Excel can alter history and repeat last year’s win in the 2000m contest at Kranji on Sunday, 17 May.
“He’s done better than he did last year - he’s dropped hardly any weight off in the journey and everything’s good,” said Moore, speaking at Sha Tin this morning.
Dan Excel arrived in Singapore on Saturday (9 May) as one of a five-strong Hong Kong contingent with eyes on the Singapore International Racing Festival’s two G1 prizes. Moore has been in regular contact with his staff on the ground in the Lion City and will fly there tomorrow (Wednesday) to oversee the gelding’s final preparations.
“He’s settling in like he’s a frequent flyer,” said Moore. “He’s getting used to these trips - Australia, Singapore last year and now Singapore again - and he’s done really well. He’s eating up and he’s drinking. Everything he eats and drinks is photographed and sent to me so I know every day what he’s eating and he’s doing well. We’re going in there with very high hopes of repeating last year, given a good gate draw.”
Dan Excel warmed up for the SIA Cup with a fine third behind Able Friend in the G1 Champions Mile, a race he himself won in 2013. That was the seven-year-old Shamardal gelding’s fourth start since returning to Hong Kong from Australia when sickness thwarted a planned assault on the Spring Carnival.
“After his run the other week Tommy Berry said he should be peaking at the right time,” added Moore. “His prep has been right on, so far, and now he just has to draw the right gate. It would be great if he could draw gate one again and get the soft lead.”
The past two winners of the SIA Cup both hail from Hong Kong and the other, Military Attack, is also aiming for a second win. The seven-year-old’s trainer Caspar Fownes also has Lucky Nine on the ground in Singapore: Hong Kong’s reigning Champion Sprinter will attempt an unprecedented hat-trick in the G1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m).
Both Fownes horses are reported to be eating well and have regained the weight they lost in transit.
The Paul O’Sullivan-trained Aerovelocity, a dual G1 winner this season, is another reported to be settling in well ahead of the KrisFlyer International Sprint and it is a similar story regarding fellow sprint contender Rich Tapestry. The latter’s trainer Michael Chang is already at Kranji and yesterday told the Singapore Turf Club: “He’s a good traveller. He did not lose any weight on the way here - still at 503kg which is his racing weight. He will do a good steady canter over 1600m on both Tuesday and Wednesday before going for a good breeze-up on turf on Thursday.”
