South African jockey Juan Paul van der Merwe will be the first to admit his first two months at Kranji have been tougher than he had expected, but the resilient jockey is confident things are on the up.

Just the sole meeting in Singapore last week with the Hideyuki Takaoka trained Star Jack the headline performer on Friday night.

Up-and-coming Japanese-bred stayer Star Jack put up a stirring showdown with Target to land the $100,000 Kranji Stakes B race over 2000m on Friday night.

A competitive field of runners will line up in the Kranji Stakes B over 2000m at Kranji on Friday night.

Already booked aboard Golazo, jockey Olivier Placais had to make a tough decision when told stablemate Star Jack would also be lining up in the $100,000 Kranji Stakes B race over 2000m this Friday.