Deception in firing mode by Logan

One is shooting for a hat-trick.

The other is a last-start winner.

And the third, well, he has been knocking his socks off trying to get that breakthrough. But, so far for all his effort, he has three runner-up showings on the board.

We are talking about Lim's Spin, Sabah Star and Deception respectively.

Right now, the thing they have in common is the fact that they were the stars on the training track at Kranji yesterday morning.

For now, let us give winless Deception pride of place.

He had Wong Chin Chuen up in the saddle when running the 600m in 41.7sec. That, after a brisk canter to maybe loosen things up.

Formerly with Mark Walker, who has since relocated to New Zealand, Deception has, since last December, been with trainer Donna Logan.

Deception came over to her barn with lofty ambitions and earmarked for big things.

But, somehow, things have not gone his way.

He finished third on debut after putting together a string of good trials.

On the strength of that showing, racegoers backed him down to $22 at his next start but again he just managed to fill that third slot.

Then came the string of near misses.

Three times, he had to settle for the spoils, the last time being just two weeks ago, when beaten narrowly by the very-talented Istataba in an exciting race over the 1,200m on grass.

Logan has picked a winnable sort of race for the Fortuna NZ Racing Stable-owned gelding and he might be the one to back on Saturday.

Unlike Deception, Sabah Star knows all there is to know about winning.

He has already put together a well-spaced and smart race-to-race double.

Trainer David Kok must be commended for keeping his charge in rattling condition.

Yesterday morning, Sabah Star had regular race jockey Oscar Chavez up in the irons when running the 600m in 39sec.

It was a tight piece of work from the five-year-old son of Pins.

He will go into the weekend's contest carrying the confidence of the stable.

That said, it will be his first attempt racing in Class 3 company.

That is the question mark. But his last two wins were impressive.

Last time out, in mid-February, he was obliged to race wide for most of the 1,400m. But he made light of that disadvantage and charged home over the concluding stages to beat Harry Dream by a length.

It was a strong showing, especially since Harry Dream went on to win last Saturday rather impressively, beating Billy Elliot by almost a length.

Saturday's trip is perfect for Sabah Star, whose six wins have been over the 1,400m - and on grass.

As for Lim's Spin, he had Louis-Philippe Beuzelin doing the steering when running the 600m in 40.6sec.

It was a month ago that the five-year-old posted his second win, beating War Pride in a tight finish over the 1,200m on grass.

That win came almost two years after he put his first Kranji win on the board.

That was in a 1,200m Restricted Maiden event.

Among those he beat were Resolute and Kinabalu Warrior.

Both have since won three races apiece.

Prepared by Stephen Gray, Lim's Spin is on an upward trajectory. He appears to be in good enough condition to run a big race on Saturday.