ROOTING FOR LONE LADY IN THE PACK

Istataba, the only mare in Raffles Cup field, out to give male rivals a run for their money

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Do not put it past the ladies to be humming to the 1970's hit tune Beautiful Sunday a little after 4.30pm on Aug 11.

That would be when the lucky racegoers join in the celebrations after the running of the Raffles Cup.

Almost all of the pre-race attention has been on the Lim's Stable pair of Lim's Kosciuszko and Lim's Saltoro, with little else on the other seven males in the 10-horse field.

Still, Donna Logan, the only woman trainer in Singapore, is holding onto a sliver of hope that Istataba, the only mare in the $300,000 feature, can rise to the occasion in the Group 1 race over 1,600m slated as Race 9 in the 10race programme at Kranji.

The New Zealander reckons the daughter of Treasure Beach will be back to her best on Aug 11.

Now six years old, the Argentinian-bred could be good enough to be competitive at the top level as she ran third behind Lim's Kosciuszko in the 2023 Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2,000m) on Nov 11.

That run was the AI Rashid Stable galloper's first start for Logan after moving over from ex-Kranji trainer Michael Clements in October, 2023.