Mortal Engine's still revving

Four starts for three wins - the last two in a row with easy all-the-way victories. That is how promising Mortal Engine is.

The Michael Clements-trained and Tivic Stable-owned four-year-old keeps stepping up and there is no telling how good he really is.

But, for sure, a hat-trick is beckoning for the black/brown Australian-bred gelding in tomorrow's Race 5, the $50,000 Class 4 Div 1 event over the Polytrack 1,100m.

He ticks plenty of boxes.

For starters, he is still racing in Class 4 - the grade of his last two wins. The course and distance are also similar.

He has beaten horses at this level twice so convincingly that a third is well within his grasp.

Of course, he is paying a price for his successes.

He has been given pride of place as the topweight with 59kg, but Clements has wisely nominated capable 3kg-claiming apprentice jockey Jerlyn Seow to bring the weight down to 56kg.

This is 1/2kg lighter than when Mortal Engine won his last outing with three-time Singapore champion Manoel Nunes, his partner in three starts since his comeback from a 101/2-month spell on Nov 20 last year.

In that race on Feb 2, he led throughout from pole position to beat Unconquered by a neat length in a smart 1min 04.98sec.

Clements reckoned he was still a bit green in the last 100m but Nunes managed to get something from his mount.

"He is a horse who is progressing well," said Clements then.

"I hope he can have another go in Class 4. In Class 3, the pace is a lot stronger and he may not have his own way."

Well, Clements has got his wish.

The lanky trainer also believes Mortal Engine has more scope, as he is a horse who can be where you want him to be.

He does not necessarily have to lead. He can sit and wait. He is that versatile.

Clements pointed out that the wide gate (No. 11) was against his horse in the preceding race.

But, after Nunes hunted him up, he went to the front and duly obliged. He also clocked a good time, 1:04.71.

In his first race after his spell last Nov 20, Mortal Engine was short of a run. He was well up fourth before fading to ninth in a Class 4 race over 1,200m on turf.

His racing career was put on hold for almost a year because of a knee surgery, after his debut victory in a Restricted Maiden event over 1,200m on a yielding turf track on Dec 24 2020.

Seow, Kranji's only woman rider, can enjoy a hat-trick herself with luck.

I have also made Hadeer (Race 10) and Brutus (Race 11) - her two mounts after Mortal Engine - my top picks.

Both the Donna Logan-trained horses have been running well, finding one to beat in their last start. Looking fighting fit during trackwork, they are set to go one better with Seow's 3kg claim.