Leung Ho Yin, Simon's Bio
Simon is a well respected full-time thoroughbred racing commentator specializing in pedigree and overseas international racing. He is currently the presenter on several racing television programmes including, ‘Horse Racing – Results’, ‘Simulcast Preview'’ and Simulcast oversea races.

Kranji Racecourse – Track Analysis (Kranji Mile Day):

Though being a level and vast track, the Kranji Racecourse features two distinguished left-handed turns (the Short Course and the Long Course) curving back to the homestretch; for the turf-only card on the up-coming Kranji Mile Day, all eight races will be staged over 1200m, 1400m and 1600m on the Short Course.

As it measures just about 400m from the top of the homestretch to the finish, as long as the going is good or firm, runners sent to the front early would usually get an edge, while deep closers do need more real estate on the Long Course to reel in their competition, as per usual at Kranji.

For the featured Kranji Mile, the Class 2 Handicap and the Class 3 Handicap, all over 1600m, runners have an entire 800m of the backside to drop towards the rail or find cover, before reaching the only turn. Meanwhile, the three 1200m Class 4 Handicaps will have a much shorter run-in, barely 400m at best, before hitting the same far turn, and outside-drawn runners certainly have a much higher chance to get floated wide; in comparison, the two 1400m Class 4 Handicaps will have about 600m of the same section before the turn, and a bad stall is still manageable.

In the 2019 running of the Kranji Mile contested on good goings, Hong Kong’s SOUTHERN LEGEND, hounding right behind the leader with a rail-skimming trip early, took command down the stretch to reign supreme, and SINGAPORE SLING, also representing the territory, was compromised by a bad stall that somewhat took him out of his game by prompting an early lead, then fading to hold on for third behind BLIZZARD, yet another former Hong Kong campaigner that indeed resurges in Singapore, while the deep-closing DEBT COLLECTOR, also representing the home side, was late to the scene from out wide, and just short of nipping SINGAPORE SLING to settle for fourth.

Reviewing the race meeting at Kranji on 8th August, when the turf was listed as good, track bias was negligible, and the homestretch in fact played favourably to the strength of those deep closers who rallied from out wide, and front-runners were having a hard time holding off their competition late.

With incessant precipitation and occasional thunderstorms that looks to extend towards Sunday, Kranji would probably be stocked with a wet, sticky track on deck. Should the weather improves just in time, forwardly-placed runners would still continue to own the competition, especially for sprinting contests; yet if it is still a deluge on raceday to soften the strip further, deep closers may turn the table.

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