LOCAL hero Rocket Man fired a warning shot to his visiting rivals when he starred yesterday in an important trackwork session leading into Sunday's group 1 Krisflyer Stakes at Kranji racetack in Singapore, reports The Age.It says: Rocket Man, who is bound for Melbourne next spring to contest a number of feature sprints, yesterday reeled off his final 600 metres in 35.4 seconds with his final 200 metres in 11.7 on Kranji's artificial Polytrack surface in a reminder that he is still the logical su

LOCAL hero Rocket Man fired a warning shot to his visiting rivals when he starred yesterday in an important trackwork session leading into Sunday's group 1 Krisflyer Stakes at Kranji racetack in Singapore, reports The Age.

It says: Rocket Man, who is bound for Melbourne next spring to contest a number of feature sprints, yesterday reeled off his final 600 metres in 35.4 seconds with his final 200 metres in 11.7 on Kranji's artificial Polytrack surface in a reminder that he is still the logical successor to Sacred Kingdom's title as the world's best sprinter.

Rocket Man was beaten by Sacred Kingdom in the Krisflyer Stakes last year but since has proven himself in Dubai when a luckless second in the Golden Shaheen Stakes and on Sunday has the chance to claim such worthy scalps as Hong Kong's contenders Happy Zero, Joy And Fun and Green Birdie along with Australian hopefuls Eagle Falls and Gold Trail.

Trainer Pat Shaw, who had Rocket Man's off-fore leg X-rayed on Monday as a precaution after the horse's leg injuries last year, told the Singapore Turf Club website that Rocket Man was on song. ''I was happy with his work this morning,'' said Shaw. ''He's nice and relaxed in his stable and eating well.''

The David Hayes-trained Eagle Falls has done little more than even time since he arrived in Singapore from Dubai but is expected to have a searching gallop in the next few days with the arrival of his jockey Damien Oliver.

The sizeable Hussonet galloper has lost none of his condition since his luckless fifth in the Golden Shaheen and this week weighs in at 530 kilograms, which was his weight when he ran in Dubai on March 27.