LIM'S KOSCIUSZKO BACK A WINNER AFTER HK SETBACK

Singapore champion does not need to blow away the cobwebs, takes KSA race in style

- Michael Lee

Singapore champion galloper Lim's Kosciuszko answered all the queries over his racing fitness with a commanding comeback win at Kranji on March 23.

Unsighted since his ninth to the legendary Golden Sixty in the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile (1,600m) at Sha Tin on Dec 10, the Kermadec six-year-old launching his 2024 campaign in the $100,000 Kranji Stakes A race (1,200m) on Polytrack was Under normal circumstances, even a three-month layoff is barely a speed bump for the reigning Singapore Horse of the Year to hit the ground running.

But it is well documented that the seven-time Group 1 winner met with quarantine issues out of Hong Kong, ruling him out of any Dubai World Cup plans on March 30.

With his physical condition under a cloud, Lim's Kosciuszko was no certainty at his first-up mission.

Still, his unbackable $6 odds suggested he still had the pull of a sentimental favourite, though the handicapping terms of the race also tipped the scales in his favour.

Even trainer Daniel Meagher might have thought he was under the odds this time.

But, after getting the gun run in behind the early speed, Lim's Kosciuszko delivered with a breathtaking acceleration at the 300m.