Checkmate shows all the right moves

With the races at the Selangor Turf Club coming up on Nov 8, trainers and connections of the horses involved have completed their work.

The last couple of days have been mostly about neatly tying up loose ends.

So it was, on the morning of Nov 5, the little action on the training track was confined to horses being given a good stretch-out in the form of some cantering.

There were the odd exceptions, though. On a turf track rated “good”, Checkmate and Infinity Warrior went against the clock.

In separate gallops, Checkmate ran the 600m in 39.8sec, after loosening up with some cantering while Infinity Warrior, the second reserve in Race 9, a Class 4A (1,500m), also did a spot of cantering before taking off to clock 40sec for the short and sharp trip.

Whether he gets a chance to frank that form on Nov 8 will depend on the scratchings, but Checkmate is a confirmed starter in the Max2 (1,300m), slotted in as Race 8 on the 11-race programme coming up.

The Calyx four-year-old has yet to post a win – and he has had, to date, nine attempts to break through.

Eight of those were when he raced as Stapleton in Queensland, Australia. Then under the care of Michael Morrison, he finished third on four occasions.

Sent over to Malaysia, he joined trainer Simon Dunderdale’s establishment and was renamed Checkmate. The gelding had one race start which saw him take sixth in a field of 12 runners in an Open Maiden (1,200m) on Oct 25.

To his credit, he was doing his best work late in the race.

With the very experienced Shafiq Rizuan staying in the saddle, Checkmate may run home a winner.

As for Infinity Warrior, he is one of the reserves. But, should there be some withdrawals, he could be a factor in this Class 4 (A) race over the 1,500m.

Another one out for a good stretch-out on that lazy morning was Fortune Wheel.

Like most of the others, his work was restricted to cantering on the turf track.

Trained by Richard Lim, who was also his master when he was stabled at Kranji, Fortune Wheel has seven wins to his credit, with the last coming on June 29.

But he did post encouraging signs when running second to Navy Seals in a 1,400m contest on Sept 29.

For the record, Fortune Wheel was again, on the morning of Nov 6, out for some cantering.

All bases appear to have been covered and he deserves some consideration when you are mapping your strategy for Race 5, a Class 5B over 1,150m.

Then there was Joju, a Class 5 mare residing in Richard Lines’ yard. She too was sent out for a canter on the morning of Nov 5.

To date, the Burgundy eight-year-old has won six races. The most recent success came two starts back on Aug 31.

However, things went wrong at her last start when she ran eighth in a field of 12. Sent off as the third pick in the Selangor race, Joju blundered and came into contact with another runner.

Hauled up before the racing stewards, her rider Ikram Jamaludin was found guilty of careless riding and suspended for a day.

By keeping Ikram on Joju in Race 3, a Class 5A (1,020m), Lines is giving the four-kilo claimer a chance to make amends.

brian@sph.com.sg