Maynard's Pair Turning Up The Heat In Selangor

Australian trainer's Kitsune and Tommy Gun toss in fine gallops

- Brian Miller

Trainer Frank Maynard drew a blank at the just-concluded Selangor meeting on May 25, albeit with only two runners.

But the 2006 Malaysian champion trainer will come into the races on June 1 with a solid team of 12, including two Emergency Acceptors.

Among the dozen of them are a couple who could make it a good day for him. From their work on the morning of May 27, Kitsune and Tommy Gun could be Maynard's standard bearers in the 12-race meeting at Sungai Besi.

Kitsune turned on the style to run the 600m in a brisk 37.2sec while Tommy Gun stopped the clocks at 39.2sec for his gallop over the same distance.

A Japanese-bred four-year-old, Kitsune is winless after four outings in Kuala Lumpur. But he did turn in his best showing at his last start, when running a close-up fourth to Limitless Stout in a Class 5A race over the 1,300m on May 17.

That day, when neglected in the betting and sent off as a prohibitive outsider, the son of Henry Barows came from last to charge home late under Lim Shung Uai.

The stewards' report also stated that he was "unable to secure clear running until the concluding stages" of the race.

In Japanese mythology, Kitsune refers to a creature with supernatural abilities, but this Kitsune, now residing at his Australian handler's yard, is far from supernatural - or super at anything.