Northern Lion (NZ) smashed the 1000m Kranji track record in winning the Auckland Racing Club Trophy at Kranji on Sunday.

The fleet-footed Ishiguru gelding was racing first-up after finishing fifth behind Singapore star Rocket Man (Viscount) in the G1 Lion City Cup (1200m).

Northern Lion jumped well and sat outside the leader before asserting his superiority to score by more than three lengths in 57.76s.  It broke Bionic Boy’s old record by 0.31s and the beaten brigade included G1 performers Better Be The One (More Than Ready) and Tuxedo Moon (Stravinsky).

“His trackwork was terrible, and to be honest, I was not very confident going into the race,” leading Singapore jockey Joao Moreira said.  “But I woke him up early and he broke their hearts.”

The flashy chestnut has now won 8 of his 20 starts.  He was a $65,000 buy from Chequers Stud at the 2008 NZ Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale.

Northern Lion’s dam Capebay (Kaapstad) has also foaled the Ishiguru winners Guru Bay and Chess.  She is a winning half-sister to Melbourne stakes performer The Collector (Zabeel).