GOLDEN MONKEY IN THE HUNT

Win on June 16 will be perfect launch pad ahead of final four Group races at Kranji

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The Tim Fitzsimmons-trained Golden Monkey may have bigger fish to fry in the coming months, but a win in the Kranji Stakes A race over 1,400m on June 16 would be the "perfect entrée".

Lining up as the top-rated runner (105 points) in the five-horse field following the scratchings of Sky Eye and Senor Don, the five-year-old son of Star Turn looks very hard to beat on paper, given this will be a rare run out of Group company and he is also well-weighted at the race conditions despite carrying 59.5kg.

The Australian-bred gelding had frequently placed behind the dominating Lim's Kosciuszko on more than one occasion at the highest level, with his latest and laststart third in the Group 1 Kranji Mile on May 18.

In fact, since his Group 1 Singapore Derby (1,800m) victory in July 2023, connections have headed to the champagne room on only one occasion after he won the Group 3 Fortune Bowl (1,400m) on Feb 11.

It is a statistic that belies the Jig Racing/Elvin Stable-owned gelding because he races consistently well at the top level and has a turn of foot that is the envy of many.