SINGAPORE,  30 Apr 2009

JAY PEG, winner of S$3m Singapore Airlines International Cup (SAIC) last year, will be back to defend his crown in the 2009 edition which will be staged on May 17.

But he may find it tough going this time around, with two Group 1 winners in two different countries last weekend making the list of invitees for the 2000m event.

JAY PEG has been winless since his victory in last May, due largely to an injury that sidelined him through the remainder of last year. Trainer Herman Brown elected to send JAY PEG to England last year to recuperate from surgery to repair cartilage damage to a knee before heading to Dubai earlier this year.

The entire signalled his well-being with a length-and-a-quarter second to BALIUS — third in last year’s SIAC — in a Group 2 race at Nad Al Sheba on March 5 before finishing 11th in the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free over 1777m — a race he had been successful in 12 months earlier — on March 29.

POMPEII RULER, who returned to winning form at Randwick in Australia on April 25 when successful in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2000m for Mick Price, and PRESVIS, winner of the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup over the same distance a day later in Hong Kong, have accepted the invite to come to Singapore.

PRESVIS is trained by Luca Cumani who will be chasing his second SIA Cup having won the race with ENDLESS HALL in 2001.

GLORIA DE CAMPEAO, a Brazilian-bred for French trainer Pascal Bary, joins PRESVIS to form a strong European contingent. The six-year-old entire has not raced since finishing second to WELL ARMED in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup over 2000m at Nad Al Sheba on March 28.

Also from Australia is the Mike Moroney-trained SARRERA, equal runner-up to POMPEII RULER in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the victor of the 2008 edition.

BANKABLE from Mike De Kock’s yard will join JAY PEG flying the South Africa flag in Singapore.

Japanese galloper TASCATA SORTE will line-up for trainer Hideaki Fujiwara while Godolphin Stable — which won the race with Grandera in 2002 — returns for another tilt with last year’s SIAC third placegetter BALIUS – a recent addition to their team.

Five local gallopers will take on the overseas contingent, spearheaded by the Laurie Laxon-trained TOP SPIN, the 2008 Horse Of The Year and winner of last year’s Group 1 Singapore Derby.

Joining TOP SPIN will be last year’s Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup winner EL DORADO, Group 2 Three-Year-Old Challenge 3rd leg winner THE HORNET, Group 3 Chairman’s Trophy winner ANY HUMOUR and RICOCO, recent runner-up in the Group 2 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.