BOY XANDER LOOKS GOOD ENOUGH FOR A THIRD WIN

Lim's Craft, Emphatic, Matilda shine at KL trackwork on Dec 10

- Brian Miller

If there is a horse that is eager to get on with the job, it is Boy Xander.

Sparingly raced, he has only had three starts since May 28, 2022.

Yes, you read it correctly, 2022, with his last win on April 9 that year.

Indeed, since that day in May, he was missing from the track for a whopping 864 days and only reappeared on Oct 8, 2024 when he won a trial over the Selangor Turf Club's 1,000m.

Satisfied with that showing, trainer Cheng Han Yong sent him to the races on Oct 13 and it was almost a winning return.

Alas, it was not to be. Boy Xander had to settle for second spot.

Well, the now seven-year-old had two more starts on Oct 27 and Nov 23 and on both occasions he made the board, finishing fourth to Limitless Roar in Sungai Besi and Brandenburg in Ipoh.

It has been almost three weeks since that last jump-out but the short break seems to have done him a world of good.

How so? Well, on the morning of Dec 10, Boy Xander was one of the star performers on the training track.

Taking off from the 600m mark, he ran the trip in 39.2sec.

Yes, the son of Shamexpress is in a hurry to get going and, come Dec 15, we should see him turn in a stylish performance in what will be just his ninth race start.