CAVALRY CHARGES TO $1M RACE

Less fancied stablemate beats Makin, fuelling Thai owners’ hopes of 2nd Kranji Mile gong

- Michael Lee

Trainer Steven Burridge came out on top at the May 4 meeting's highlight, but probably not quite with the horse most would have expected.

The Australian was a hot favourite to take the $85,000 Class 2 race (1,600m), given he saddled the two leading picks in Makin and Cavalry.

But the buzz had been so much more around Makin's bid for a four in-a-row that it felt like a foregone conclusion the Singapore Derby hopeful was already over the line.

A barrier trial win on April 25 where he oozed class and power must have also done its part in slashing his odds to $8.

As it turned out, though, it was Burridge's second-stringer Cavalry ($23) who stole the show.

The lightly raced Tavistock fiveyear-old had somehow slipped a little under the radar despite a creditable first-up run.

Unsighted for six months, the 2022 Taupo Cup winner (when known as Tutukaka) made late ground for fourth to the same Makin in an identical Class 2 race (1,600m) first-up on March 30.

With barely any variance in conditions between the two races, not many saw the two stablemates turning the tables on each other.

But they had forgotten about two aspects, which is what the beauty of racing is all about.

Circumstances vary from race to race, and horses can certainly come on by a few lengths in five weeks.