While the Dubai raid has not brought the expected results thus far, trainer Stephen Gray will take one last roll of the dice this Thursday, failing which he still has his home team to bring back the smiles this weekend.

Further to the recent announcement that the $1.5 million Group 1 Kranji Mile (1600m) will become an invitational race this year, the Singapore Turf Club is taking one step further in its bid to create a racing extravaganza by rescheduling the race to 26 May 2018, along with the $1 million Group 1 Lion City Cup (1200m) and the $1 million Group 1 Singapore Guineas (1600m).

The bar was deemed to have been raised a fraction too high this time, but Black Swan silenced the doubters with yet another gutsy win in the $100,000 Kranji Stakes B race over the mile on Friday night.

Trainer Mark Walker’s decision to fit Distinctive Darci with blinker-pacifiers proved to be spot-on after the Darci Brahma four-year-old landed the spoils in the $125,000 Kranji Stakes A race over 1100m on Friday night.

French jockey Olivier Placais returned from injury a winner with Justice Day in the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1200m on Friday night.

French jockey Olivier Placais returned from injury a winner with Justice Day in the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1200m on Friday night.

Trainer Michael Clements continued his red-hot form with impressive debut winner Quarter Back on Friday night.

Trainer Mark Walker’s decision to fit Distinctive Darci with blinker-pacifiers proved to be spot-on after the Darci Brahma four-year-old landed the spoils in the $125,000 Kranji Stakes A race over 1100m on Friday night.

The bar was deemed to have been raised a fraction too high this time, but Black Swan silenced the doubters with yet another gutsy win in the $100,000 Kranji Stakes B race over the mile on Friday night.

Despite not commanding as many rides as fashionable names like Wong Chin Chuen, Zawari Razali or Troy See, Malaysian apprentice jockey Krisna Thangamani has somehow snuck his way into the Top Five on the Singapore apprentice jockey log this year.

Back from a four-month layoff, talented but unpredictable performer Olympic Anthem will be teamed up for the first time with current leading apprentice jockey Troy See on Friday night.

Trainer Theo Kieser has decided to take the blinkers off last-start winner First Choice this Friday, all with the intention of settling him better should he head for loftier targets.

French jockey Olivier Placais told himself he should stay away from his laptop during his period of convalescence back in Switzerland and France.

Two-time Singapore champion trainer Mark Walker is hoping that blinker-pacifiers will do the trick on Distinctive Darci in the Kranji Stakes A race over 1100m on Friday.

Trainer Ricardo Le Grange is tossing exciting three-year-old Nowyousee in with the big boys in a Kranji Stakes A race on Friday night.

Promising apprentice jockey Amirul Ismadi returned a winner at his first weekend of riding in Singapore since completing a three-month apprenticeship in Tasmania.

Rising up in class and distance, emerging stayer Dalgety came up with the goods even if he had to be hard-pushed to the line in Sunday’s $80,000 Class 3 race over 2000m.

The Oscar Racing Stable seems to have found another exciting find in the unbeaten Mr Colin following a second win from as many starts on Sunday.

Back-in-form Bayu sprang a mini upset in Sunday’s $60,000 Class 4 Premier race over 1400m when he bounced back to the winner’s circle almost one year later.

Gannet showed that his last-start fast-finishing third was not a one-off when he reproduced the same form to open his account at his 17th start on Sunday.

Short-priced favourite Loving You gave her legion of backers a major scare when she could not quite kick clear as widely expected, but to their great relief, the debuting US-bred filly dug deep into her precocious ability to prevail by a head on Sunday.

It’s a racing feat not within the compass of many, but the underrated Clarton Super showed he might well have what it took to figure among Kranji’s best after he won back-to-back Group races in between a freshen-up on Saturday.

Sun Dream aptly captured a race named after his owner’s horse racing club, the $80,000 Macau Jockey Club Trophy on Saturday.

In-form trainer Shane Baertschiger continued his current solid run with a race-to-race double as well as a quinella on Fortune Bowl day on Saturday.

Australian jockey Daniel Moor was delighted his regular day trips to Kranji have rewarded him with a second winner on Saturday.

Ben Gunn had earned the grand total of US$672 in six starts in Ireland, but in just one hit at Kranji, picked up more than $25,000 in prizemoney on Fortune Bowl day on Saturday.

Imperium lived up to the promise shown on debut with a gutsy winning display second-up in the $85,000 Gong Xi Fa Cai Stakes, a Restricted Maiden race over 1200m on Saturday.

The Singapore Turf Club is speeding up the process of restoring its international status by elevating the Group 1 Kranji Mile over 1600 metres to invitational status this May.

Patience is paying off with smart but unruly filly Filibuster even if one can sense trainer Cliff Brown’s frustration at being unable to tap on such vast potential more readily.

Amirul Ismadi has not taken long to get snapped right back up by Kranji trainers the moment he returned to Singapore on Monday.

Current leading trainer Steven Burridge is sitting out the Group 3 Fortune Bowl (1400m) on Saturday, but still hopes for his own fortunes to stay on the rise this weekend with his big team of runners led by impressive last-start winner Dalgety.

They may be rivals on the track, but off it, trainers Daniel Meagher and Alwin Tan showed the decorum expected of them when Absolute Miracle traded places.

After a round of musical chairs, Craig Grylls will be the one sitting in the saddle when Forever Young heads out for the $200,000 Group 3 Fortune Bowl (1400m) this Saturday.

This Saturday’s $200,000 Group 3 Fortune Bowl was probably not what trainer Tan Kah Soon had in mind as his first choice for Clarton Super’s comeback race, but he’s in it now, and whether he wins or not, it will at least tell him how good he is.

The jury was still out, but Michael Clements’ gun sprinter Tannhauser showed he was just as lethal on turf as he is on Polytrack with a superlative performance in the $100,000 Class 2 race over 1200m on Sunday.

The Singapore Turf Club has granted jockey Daniel Moor a visiting jockey’s licence to ride at Saturday’s Group 3 Fortune Bowl meeting on 17 February, 2018 as well as the Sunday meeting on 18 February, 2018.

Trainer Kuah Cheng Tee’s well-known partiality towards US-breds will no doubt grow further after Big Wave opened his account at his sixth start in the $85,000 Restricted Maiden race over 1400m on Sunday.

Any fears the distance would be too sharp for Gran Torino first-up proved totally unfounded following the way he flogged his rivals in the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1000m on Sunday.

Trainer Shane Baertschiger kept his promise of giving owner Desmond Ong a winner on the day he brought his daughter Robyn to the races for the first time.

Sometimes the simplest of instructions are all you need to get a winner.

Trainer Steven Burridge extended his current lead in the premiership with an 11th win which was provided by his former champion two-year-old Lim’s Racer and his promising apprentice jockey Simon Kok Wei Hoong on Friday night.

Grand Cross returned to winning ways in the $100,000 Canada Cup 2018, a Class 2 race over 1200m on Friday night.

All the stars were aligned for Mr Exchequer to win on Friday night and he sure did not let his connections down by turning up with a brilliant win in the $80,000 HJM Asia Cup, a Class 3 race over 1600m.

A famous tattoo was the inspiration behind the naming of Friday night’s winner Come And Take All.

After coming close on a few occasions, emerging outfit Yu Long Stable was finally able to savour its first Singapore success on Friday night.

Trainer James Peters is expecting a forward run from two-time winner Gran Torino at his inaugural 2018 race this Sunday.

A freak accident forced Donna Logan to arrive at Kranji one month later than scheduled, but the positive woman said the untimely setback has not really thrown her new career plans in disarray.

Trainer Alwin Tan could not be happier with the way Infantry’s two barrier trials have brought him on ahead of his comeback race next Saturday week.

Blinkers will be the key factor to Paparazzi’s campaign towards the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge.

Unsighted since his barrier mishap on January 19, English jockey Alan Munro makes his Kranji riding comeback this weekend.

An excited Stephen Gray is venturing into the unknown when he lands in Dubai on Tuesday night, a couple of days ahead of Bahana’s and Newlands’ first run at Meydan Racecourse.

After weeks of to-ing and fro-ing, trainer David Kok finally revealed it was Michael Rodd who will ride his banner horse Well Done at his comeback race, the Group 3 Fortune Bowl (1400m) on February 17.

Riding doubles used to be a dime a dozen for jockey Mark Ewe, but times have changed and to bring up such a haul on Sunday had him searching deep into the recesses of his mind for his last one.

Back-in-the-spotlight jockey Benny Woodworth is showing no signs of slowing down after he added an eighth winner to his bulging tally thanks to a pick-up ride aboard Elite Invincible on Sunday.

Former top juvenile Charger improved on his resuming third by going two better to give his new trainer Theo Kieser a much-needed boost on Sunday.

Former New Zealand two-time winner Biraz opened his local account courtesy of a blinding turn of foot that saw him claim the $80,000 The British Club Gallop (1100m) with a late flourish on Sunday.

Trainer Ricardo Le Grange was glad promising three-year-old Nowyousee has quickly bounced back from his only defeat with a gutsy all-the-way win on Sunday.

Glen Boss is not about to forget Sunday’s meeting so soon after he got a first-hand taste of the contrasting fortunes that pick-up rides may be saddled with.

Australian jockey Michael Rodd took the lead in the Singapore jockeys’ premiership following a riding treble on Friday night, but still showed his usual humbleness, especially after his first-pin win aboard Black Swan.

Kranji was treated to a regal battle in Friday’s $80,000 Class 3 race over 1400m when Kingsman held court over King Louis.

Underrated jockey Zuriman Zulkifli finally had luck on his side after he scored aboard a pick-up ride on Friday night.

Trainer James Peters predicted a handy future for Arc Triumph after the Showcasing three-year-old made all to score a stylish win in the $85,000 Restricted Maiden race over 1000m on Friday night.

One of the most stunning performances in this early part of the season hailed from a newcomer, Mr Dujardin, at his last-to-first win in a race which was supposedly not made to suit.

Many were confounded by Yabadabadoo’s last start, with the only excuse left to sugar the pill being ‘it was one of these things’.

French jockey Olivier Placais will be out for three weeks after it was confirmed he had suffered a small fracture to his sternum.