3 minute read

After Lim’s Lightning was scratched from the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) on the morning of the race, his odds of pressing on towards the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup one month later would probably have drifted to 100-1.

The minor abrasions from an innocuous fall during a routine afternoon walk were not really the problem as horses get over these quickly.

It's just that trainer Daniel Meagher and the Lim's Stable could ill-afford to risk running the Lion City Cup-Raffles Cup winner when he couldn't be at his 100% in less than 24 hours.

Still, the setback cast further doubts to any plans – that were already tentative before the fall - of racing the six-year-old son of Lope De Vega in the Singapore Gold Cup on November 14.

Even though at 111 points, Lim's Lightning sat right on top of the nominations of the $1 million time-honoured handicap feature, the 2000m was a query.

Going on his fence-sitting "let's throw his name in the mix first, then we'll see", Meagher himself had never sounded that way inclined, even after the former sprinter's stunning rebirth under his helm since returning to Singapore from a lacklustre Australian stint (only one win at Werribee in eight starts).

Lim's Lightning  was pretty smart as a 2yo/3yo when prepared by Steven Burridge (four wins, including the Group 2 Aushorse Golden Horseshoe over 1200m), but nobody could have imagined those new heights he has scaled to, not even Meagher.

But ironically, it was the very next day after the QEII Cup scratching debacle that it dawned on Meagher he might have a gilt-edged chance in his hands after all.

"Saturday was the QEII Cup, on Sunday morning, I trotted him up myself and he improved drastically from the day before. He was 90% better, when they improve so quickly, it's a great sign," said the Australian trainer.

"I also talked to Danny Beasley and went through all the timings and sectionals of the QEII Cup (won by Hard Too Think). Dan is fantastic with sectionals

"That's when I probably realised he would have led – and probably would have won. The Gold Cup is only 200m more, so I thought why not?

"He has never run past 1600m but he has not shown me that he wouldn't get 2000m. He has a great set of lungs, he's a very clean-winded horse.

"So, I couldn't be 100% sure, but to be honest, I'm not worried about the 2000m.

"I told the team, (owner) Mr Lim (Siah Mong) and (racing manager) Mick (Dittman), let's just see how he is step by step, how fast he recovers. Well, he's kept on improving, his recovery was quick, which was a good sign.

"I wanted Danny to get a feel of the horse, especially going towards a race like the Gold Cup. He came back with a glowing report after his gallop on Saturday.

"Fahmi galloped him twice, but Danny rode him at the last gallop, and he told me he had such a remote control feeling of the horse, he was outstanding.

"He also went super in today's trial (four wide but looked to be cantering into fifth place to Gold Star). On that trial, he's 100% to run in the Gold Cup, he's ticking all the boxes.

"I didn't have to tell Danny how to ride him in the trial, he knows the horse like the back of his hand. Anyway, it was just a maintenance gallop.

"He pulled up really good after the trial. Touch wood, everything goes smoothly this time.

"He doesn't have to lead, he can sit in the middle when the gates open, he can be wherever I want him to be.

"Of course, I've got to respect every horse in the race. If he gets 58kgs as from what I heard, he actually deserves it, as he's got 111 points, he's won two Group 1s, and won five races this year alone.

"He's a big strong horse, and except for his first run for me, he has always carried more than 57kgs for me. He knows how to carry weight.

"No doubt, he will be giving weight to horses like Hard Too Think and Katak, but he has the best jockey on board."

Having the best team behind him has also made the decision-making process less stressful, especially for a horse who has become the apple of his eyes.

"It's worked out well, I was happy, Dan, Mr Lim and Mick were happy, too," said Meagher who earned his first Group 1 success in Lim's Lightning's Lion City Cup (1200m) win in April before adding a second in the Raffles Cup (1600m) in September.

"We discussed a lot after the incident. We decided we'd let the horse tell us if he was back to normal.

"We were all quite happy to press on if he returned in good order. He has passed all the tests, and he was fit and happy.

"They told me to use my discretion, but in the end, we all came to a collective decision as a team, we all felt he was capable of going towards the Gold Cup."

While Meagher conceded the top impost in a race where lowly-weighted winners outnumber those at the heavier end of the scale could be a concern, he said missing the QEII Cup never put a spoke in the wheel.

"I was never worried he would be short of one run. He's a clean-winded horse, he's not short of work, and he's very fit," he said.

"I didn't have to change anything to get him to that fitness. It's not like I had to give him more work, more gallops – we weren't playing catch-up.

"It's the same thing we would normally do with him since January. He's given me no sign he had trained off, the break after the fall hasn't hurt him at all."

When asked if he had beefed up anything in his stable operations to keep at bay any recurrence of the pre-QEII Cup mishap, given Lim's Lightning's volatility at times, Meagher said he would rather not overthink it.

"Nothing's changed. I didn't want to spoil it by overdoing things," he said.

"It was simply a freak accident, which is typical of him. That's his kind of nature.

"The boys are naturally more cautious, but they are already doing a great job with him. He still walks at the same time and follows the same routine.

"I follow him closely every day. I watch nothing else in the world these days!"