Lim’s Kosciuszko Defends Kranji Mile Crown

Singapore supremo Lim’s Kosciuszko (Kermadec) brought up the 20th win of his glittering career when he retained his title in Saturday’s S$1m Kranji Mile (1600m).

The Trelawney Stud-bred superstar was passed in at Karaka 2019 with a $75,000 reserve, then passed in again with a $60,000 reserve at the Ready to Run Sale later that year. He has now had 26 starts for 20 wins, three placings and over S$3.1m in stakes – the equivalent of NZ$3.7m.

Lim’s Kosciuszko was Singapore’s Horse of the Year in both 2022 and 2023, and he has already made a compelling case for 2024 with brilliant wins in all of his first three appearances. The six-year-old resumed with a win on the all-weather track on March 23, then added the S$150,000 EW Barker Trophy (1400m) on April 21. Saturday’s Kranji Mile success was another emphatic display of superiority.

Jockey Marc Lerner took up a position on the outside of the front-running Street Of Dreams (Dundeel), then ambled up alongside that runner with around 600 metres remaining. Lerner remained largely motionless in the saddle until the 300-metre mark, when he went for gold and soon opened up a three-length lead.

Dream Alliance (Into Mischief) chased bravely down the straight and ate into the margin, but once again, there would be no catching Lim’s Kosciuszko. He sailed to victory by a length and a quarter, stopping the clock at 1:34.21.

“He’s an amazing horse, isn’t he,” trainer Daniel Meagher said. “He has just done everything we have asked him to. I’m really thankful for all the team, all the people back home in the stable, they’ve done an amazing job with him. He’s won 20 races here, so he’s just a fantastic horse.

“It’s great for Marc as well. There was a lot of pressure on him today, but he’s done a great job with the horse. I can’t be any happier.

“We kept it simple. He does the same thing every day. He’s just a freak, isn’t he? I mean, what else can he do? I’m just very proud of him and the whole team.”

Having completed back-to-back wins in the Kranji Mile, Meagher will now consider attempting to do the same thing in the S$1.3m Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) during the last-ever race meeting at Kranji in early October.

“Yeah, why not,” Meagher said. “We will have to keep him sound and happy. That’s our job, and hopefully we can have that.”

Lerner said his pre-race plans were thwarted when Street Of Dreams tired at the home turn.

“We didn’t want to go that early, to be honest,” he said. “I was happy to be three-quarters of a length off Street Of Dreams, but it looked like he stopped instantly at the 600, so I ended up leading. He just went up and wanted to go for it, so I tried to keep him as easy as I could and for as long as I could.

“He’s just a champion. I’m very happy today, because my brother and his wife came here to see me. There was a lot of pressure before the race, so it’s good to get it done. He was the best horse by a mile.

“There was no pace in the race, and we knew that people would pressure us early. We just wanted to get the job done and as you can see, Daniel has made a lot of the heart of Lim’s Kosciuszko.

“It showed it was the horse that made this place (Kranji) better and I hope he can entertain the people till the end.”