3 minute read

The scratching of Lim’s Lightning robbed Saturday’s QEII Cup of its headline act however Singapore Derby winner Hard Too Think was able to take full advantage.

Lining up at just his second start since his Derby triumph the jury was somewhat out on the son of All Too Hard however he was quick to silence the doubters.

Having already beaten both Big Hearted/Mr Malek in the Derby, Hard Too Think was sent out the second market elect, priced a lot closer to Big Hearted and ahead of Mr Malek.

In the Derby the market closed with Mr Malek at even money and Big Hearted at $2.20, just a lazy 95% of the market.

Hard To Think was sent out at 7-1, a short SP given he was stepping up from Class 3 company, a mark which pre-race was well below that of his two main rivals.

Rated 74 by Timeform he was conceding more than the 30 pounds (~12.5L) but arguably had the best set up having already had the run at 1800m.

The lack of other viable chances would have contributed to his SP but when assessing their raw speed figures there wasn't that much between them.

Easy after the ball and Hard Too Think simply out-stayed them in the Derby and again was too good at Kranji on Saturday.

Only relatively lightly raced, Hard Too Think has come a long way in a short period and confirmed his Derby success was no fluke.

Rated 105 by Timeform following his victory in the Derby, he was able to repeat that level of performance when beating Katak by half a length on Saturday.

Unbeaten in five starts in South Africa, Katak came to Singapore with plenty of promise though had failed to show up in two previous attempts.

Rated 103 by Timeform, Katak improved that mark on Saturday returning a Timeform rating of 104.

A great sign not only for Ricardo Le Grange and Katak's connections but also for the handicapper as it helps confirm the level of the QEII Cup.

Katak had previously run up to a similar level in South Africa and was much better suited stepping up in trip on Saturday.

The Derby rating also looked a touch high at the time but Katak helps confirm that as well.

The Singapore Gold Cup is next on the agenda for Hard Too Think and while creeping up in the weights, he still looks the horse to beat.