As strong and Good on turf

There was a school of thought that Strong N Best was a Polytrack horse, but trainer Kuah Cheng Tee did not share that opinion.

The three wins on the all-weather point to such a trend, but Kuah, a former jockey who still rides trackwork, was convinced the Rock 'N' Pop five-year-old was not one-dimensional, and certainly no slouch on grass.

A slashing win with a rider warming up the saddle for the suspended John Sundradas in the $70,000 Class 3 race over the 1,600m on turf yesterday has proven him right.

"I know John has been saying Strong N Best is better on Polytrack, but I thought he could run on grass, too," said Kuah.

"He had a second and a third from four tries last time, so to me, it wasn't a bad track record at all.

"It just so happened that the races available then were on Polytrack and he's won three times on it.

"As John was suspended, I put Harry (A'Isisuhairi Kasim) on as he's a lightweight rider and he has good hands. He put the horse in a great position throughout.

"I was only worried about So Hi Class and the rain. I didn't know how my horse would handle a soft track as he's always run on firm tracks. He clearly doesn't mind it at all."

Taking a lovely tow off a steady pace set by a trio of runners - Pennywise (Akmazani Mazuki), Golden Flame (Yusoff Fadzli) and Real Efecto (Manoel Nunes) - Strong N Best was champing at the bit upon straightening.

But, with Elite Incredible (Jake Bayliss) keeping them in a tight pocket, A'Isisuhairi had to shoulder his way out at the 450m mark.

Once he got out and had acres of land to enjoy, there was no second guessing the outcome.

"Everything went according to plan early on, but I was a bit worried around the 400m when he got box-seated by the horse on his outside," said Kuah.

"But luckily, Harry was able to push his way out. Once he saw daylight, he ran away from them."

Strong N Best, who was betted down late to $22, just exploded to a 13/4-length win from the fast-finishing Trumpy (Oscar Chavez).

So Hi Class (Shafrizal Saleh) was third, another 11/4 lengths away.

Raced by the China-owned Yong Yong Stable, Strong N Best registered 1min 35.15sec for the mile on the Long Course on a track rated as good.

It was his fourth win in 16 starts, which have also yielded five seconds and one third for earnings around the $175,000 mark.

With his dual Group winner Forever Young off the scene for so long, Strong N Best is indisputably Kuah's stable star at the moment.

Kuah is even daring to dream of Group 1 glory, a second one after Forever Young's Singapore Guineas in 2017, even if he is trying not to get too carried away.

"I've entered him in the Kranji Mile, but he needs to gain more points. He will have to run another race, but I'll discuss which one with the owners first," said Kuah.

The $1 million Group 1 Kranji Mile (1,600m) on May 21 will be the first feature race at Kranji this year.

Yesterday's riding honours went to log leader Manoel Nunes once again. The Brazilian ace racked up a four-timer in quick succession from Race 6 to 9: Magnificent Gold, See Yah, Yes One Ball and Hero.

Yes One Ball's ($18) all-the-way win in the $30,000 Class 5 Polytrack race (1,100m) incidentally handed trainer Ricardo Le Grange a new milestone - his 200th winner since taking over from his old mentor Patrick Shaw in 2016.

"I had no idea I was one short of the 200 mark until I read an article in The Straits Times," said the South African handler.

"It's a great feeling. Obviously, it's been quite a journey to get there - especially with the last three years, which have been pretty tough for everybody.

"I have to thank my staff and the owners who are the backbone of the stable.

"They are the ones who have helped me get there."