With all the spotlight on the likes of Debt Collector, Lim’s Cruiser and Infantry, trainer Shane Baertschiger is happy his horse Preditor is likely to slip unnoticed in the $300,000 Group 2 Stewards’ Cup (1400m) on Sunday.

He is engaging the Savabeel entire he also owns in the first Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge as it has always been the plan for the two-time Kranji winner to tackle all three Legs.

The second Leg is the Group 1 Patron’s Bowl on June 18, but the Australian conditioner believes the horse will get his eye in as he moves towards his main target, the third Leg, the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby (2000m) on July 9.
 

Preditor (John Powell) at his last win on March 10, picture Singapore Turf Club

“Preditor is more of a Derby horse. He is by Savabeel, and needs more ground,” he said.

“He had a break after his last run and he got a nice freshen-up. He trialled very well last Thursday.”

Baertschiger is not reading too much into the fact his horse won that trial which was almost like a dress rehearsal of sorts for the Stewards’ Cup.

After jumping from the inside alley, Preditor came off an ideal spot in fourth on the rails to go and score a handsome win from four other Stewards’ Cup nominations: Alibi (second), Debt Collector (third), Infantry (fourth) and Lim’s Cruiser, (seventh).

“It will be a different ball game on Sunday, but you never know,” said Baertschiger, who has already notched four feature race wins, all at Group 3 level, in five years of training at Kranji.

“The blinkers are going back on as he’s dropping back to 1400m. At his last race, he ran over 2200m and he would have pulled too hard with the blinkers on.

“The horse is in good form, but his main target is the Derby. You have to be in it to win it, and we’ll just have to see how he goes.”

Looking at his resume in New Zealand, Preditor should not be out of his depth among the best four-year-olds in Singapore, especially over middle distances.

Known as Predator in New Zealand where he was trained the son of former Kranji handler Paddy Busuttin, Trent and partner Natalie Young, Preditor began his career in earnest with two wins over 1400m and 1818m.

He was then tested over bigger races last year, and even if he did not score, he did not disgrace himself in the Group 2 Avondale Guineas (2100m) when seventh to Rangipo and in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) when again seventh to the same horse.

Another horse who carved out a successful first career in Baertschiger’s pink silks in New Zealand before coming to Singapore is Caorunn, and he is also running on Sunday in the $80,000 Class 3 race over 1200m where he will meet a certain Tannhauser.

While Preditor opened his local account at his second outing, it has taken Caorunn seven starts to finally open his. The Showcasing three-year-old, who ran fourth in the Karaka Million and claimed three wins in New Zealand (where he was also trained by Busuttin) before coming to Singapore, was considered a leading chance to hog the two-year-old ranks last year, but could only muster a second and a third in three runs.

Baertschiger did not lose faith in Caorunn, bringing him back as a three-year-old this year, and was finally repaid for his patience at his last start when ridden by Matthew Kellady, he annihilated a Class 3 field in a 1200m race on Polytrack on May 5.

He was, however, slapped with a 10-point penalty for that six-length rout. With his rating now on 74 points, it was no surprise to see him carry five kilos more this Sunday (57kgs).

Tannhauser is on 53.5kgs, representing a pull in weights of 3.5kgs, which may look as a luxury to Michael Clements’ rising star, but Baertschiger can only hope weights and measures are only valid on paper.

“He’s done well since his last win. I couldn’t have been happier with him,” said Baertschiger.

“Matty stays on. Tannhauser is the horse to beat, there is a 3.5kgs difference, but I think Vlad (Duric) will ride him half a kilo over, so it should come down to 3kgs.”

Baertschiger had high hopes for Caorunn as a juvenile, especially given his glowing credentials in New Zealand, but he had to bide his time a little longer than he thought.

“As a two-year-old, first-up, he wasn’t ready. Then he drew 14 in the Aushorse Golden Horseshoe and ran a very good second to Lim’s Racer,” he said.

“He then ran third in the Juvenile Championship, he had had enough. I then gave him a two-month spell, and he has come back better and stronger.”