Trainer Joe Janiak put all his pre-race concerns to rest as he applied the finishing touches to the preparation of his champion sprinter Takeover Target for Sunday's KrisFlyer Sprint in Singapore.Janiak said the small problems that had arisen since he and his horse arrived here last weekend had been overrated and, in any case, were now well and truly behind him."He'd been a bit slow getting acclimatised, but he's been eating well and feeling good the past few days," Janiak said."They'll know he'

Trainer Joe Janiak put all his pre-race concerns to rest as he applied the finishing touches to the preparation of his champion sprinter Takeover Target for Sunday's KrisFlyer Sprint in Singapore.

Janiak said the small problems that had arisen since he and his horse arrived here last weekend had been overrated and, in any case, were now well and truly behind him.

"He'd been a bit slow getting acclimatised, but he's been eating well and feeling good the past few days," Janiak said.

"They'll know he's around once they get down to it."

The clash between Takeover Target and local star Rocket Man is seen here as an opportunity for the Singapore racing industry to prove itself to the world, something it has already done in assembling two of the best international fields seen in the world this year.

Rocket Man, an Australian-bred three-year-old son of Viscount, has won his only seven starts having stepped up to open company in style at his latest appearance when beating the seasoned performer Waikato.

While Singapore regards him as one of their own, Rocket Man is one of seven Australian-breds in the race.

The Aussie contingent also includes Hong Kong's Inspiration and Sacred Kingdom, the winners of the past two HK International Sprints.

Both have impressed in their work in Singapore with Inspiration perhaps the pick of the two.

In Sunday's other feature, the $S3 million Singapore Airlines International Cup (2000m), the picture has improved considerably for the Australian contingent over the past few days.

Pompeii Ruler and Sarrera have drawn perfectly in the two inside gates, a piece of good fortune that has corresponded with a sharp improvement in their trackwork.

Pompeii Ruler turned in the best performance of the morning on Friday, leaving trainer Mick Price in a buoyant mood.

"I'm very happy," Price said.

"His skin looked good and bright, he's eaten up and he's worked well.

"He's drawn a good gate and should get a lovely run. It's all up to him now."

The air of confidence was backed up by race jockey Craig Newitt who declared his mount had improved since their last-start win in the Group One Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick.

"He's certainly gone ahead since his win in Sydney and I'm going to the races feeling very confident," Newitt said.

Fellow Melbourne trainer Mike Moroney was equally upbeat about Sarrera.

"Everything has gone smoothly so far," Moroney said.

"He's eaten up, he's been drinking and has settled in very well."

Moroney painted a picture which suggested the Australian pair could well control the race from their good draws, dismissing any notion that Sarrera needed to come from the back as he did when second to Pompeii Ruler in the Queen Elizabeth.

"We only went back in Sydney because he drew wide," he said.

"If you remember when he won the Doomben Cup last year he was right up on the pace.

"That's what I'd be expecting on Sunday."

The favourite for the race is the English galloper Presvis who drew the outside in the 12-horse field.

But with a long campaign behind him and a racing pattern that requires him to be ridden, to a large extent, for luck, he might find the Australian pair difficult to get past.