'Rocket Man looks better than ever'

Trainer Patrick Shaw is adamant Rocket Man is in better shape leading into today's Group One KrisFlyer International Sprint (1,200m) in Singapore than he was when he came up only a short-head shy of claiming the Jockey Club Sprint and Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin last December.

Rocket Man humbled the best sprinters in Hong Kong during his visit six months ago, with only South African J J The Jet Plane able to better him in his two runs at Sha Tin. Shaw believes his star galloper can land an emotional win at Kranji racecourse by claiming his first KrisFlyer Sprint.

Rocket Man is the pride of Singapore and, with 15 wins from 19 starts, the horse would be a favourite among fans, but the one thing missing from his curriculum vitae has been an International Group One win on home soil.

Last year, Rocket Man was toppled by the Caspar Fownes-trained Green Birdie in a driving finish through heavy rain, a year after being trumped by world-beater Sacred Kingdom in 2009, at his first attempt on the international stage.

'I think he's better than he was in Hong Kong, he's very well, and I can't have him better,' Shaw said. 'At Sha Tin I had to ease back a little on him because of the work conditions there, where we had to go around the right-handed track for quite a while, which was getting to his right leg where he has a pin in his bone.

'Going left-handed is much better for him for both training and racing, and he is in mint condition.' Felix Coetzee would prefer not to have to navigate his way across from gate nine in the 10-horse field, but is also brimming with confidence after working the horse.