Singapore Airlines Cup Preview and Betting Tips Part Two

One of the other key shippers is the talented Wigmore Hall (High Chaparral) but some negative news hit the wires this morning that he chipped a plate and failed to take a gallop on Tuesday morning. His race certainly isn't said to be in jeopardy but, with every other contender getting on-track at least once today, you have to wonder whether he might be a step behind. It hasn't affected his ante post price and he remains listed at a competitive 7/1. The four-year-old will made a forgettable debut on the Asian continent when he finished a well-beaten eleventh at Sha Tin two weeks ago. This one might be coming just a bit too soon – especially if we're seeing complications arising with his workout schedule. He finished third to Presvis in the Dubai Duty Free and he deserves respect on your exotics, especially your deeper ones, as he has hit the board in five of seven stakes contests. Stay tuned on this one, but I think his price will drift.

Irian (Tertullian) is another interesting local contender who began his racing career back in Europe but has been run nearly exclusively at Sha Tin with a few credible runs to his credit. The Group 2 winner also won the German 2,000 Guineas a few years back and a second place finish to Snow Fairy in the Group 1 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup jumps off the race card as he was only beaten by 1/4 of a length. You get the feeling that he needs to be in touch early on and these mid-pack trips imply leave him with way too much to do. He makes his Kranji debut and is looking at a 7/1 ante post price which will probably remain there or thereabouts come race day.

Another Group 2 winner, Royal Bench (Whipper) will be looking for another crack at Presvis as he was fourth in the Dubai Duty Free and will enjoy himself if he improves going three-off the freshening. He comes off a really bad performance in the Group 1 BMW Mile at Sha Tin and you reckon he just might not be a Group 1 horse. If the going is on the softer side I think it brings him into the picture but I'm not convinced that will be the case. Some faster speed at the start would give him something to aim at and you just wonder whether he might get undone by traffic trouble unless he can find the outside at just the right moment. Probably under-priced at 10/1.

It's tough to not mention Gitano Hernando (Hernando) heading into this one and he deserves plenty of respect and you certainly have to say that he's never ducked anybody. I like how he looks when he breaks well and gets up to the start early on, but I find in a lot of his more forgettable performances (and there have been a few of them) he's sat in the back and tried to run on late. I'm unsure about his ability to go particularly long distances when the ground doesn't quite suit him and I do wonder about his 12/1 listing and whether he's worth the price right now. Everybody who follows the international handicap division knows this guy but the simple truth is that he just doesn't win very often. Does he get up to nip a tiring Presvis after a sharp early pace and a clean trip? Maybe, but certainly not at 12/1. I think he might be a live bet for the place market if he makes a nice pre-race appearance but I'm just unconvinced about his ability to handle the better contenders here – who will likely dispose of him if they are able to run their races. Notice how he took absolutely no support in his last outing, going off at 42/1, so the sharp drop in price for this contest might make you think he really needed that last one and could be set to outrun his odds a bit here. I'll talk about him at 20/1 but not 12/1.