Renzo leads Le Grange 1-2 at Boxing Day trials

He had three runners in the second trial of the morning and, for good reason, those who were taking in the action at trackside on Dec 26 would have fancied a Ricardo Le Grange trifecta.

His trio comprised Blue Idol, Renzo and Leatherhead.

All were competent. All were capable.

But as it sometimes happens, someone turns up to spoil the party.

In this case, it was Bransom who stayed on to take third. Or, flip the coin over, you could say it was Blue Idol who was “not in the mood” and eventually finished at the tail of the field.

Either way, and while there was no Le Grange-trifecta, he did come through with the quinella when Renzo beat Leatherhead – and he would have been pleased with the performances of his two runners.

Both had good stretch-outs, with the winner clocking 1min 1.32sec for the 1,000m.

To his credit, the Stephen Gray-trained Bransom did make the Le Grange pair work hard for their morning treats.

Bransom dictated the pace from the get-go and he held a solid lead when the runners cleared the 600m marker.

Turning for the run home and Renzo, on a good hold, loomed.

Rozlan Nazam, who is in a tussle with Jeryln Seow and Jamil Sarwi for the 2023 apprentice’s title, would have known he was onto a good thing and he held his mount in reserve.

Passing the furlong marker and he clicked Renzo into action. The Argentinian-bred Orpen five-year-old responded and soon thereafter, he hit the front.

With Bransom waving the white flag, it was Renzo’s stablemate, Leatherhead, who tossed in a challenge.

But, though scrubbed along by Mohd Zaki, Leatherhead was too little, too late. Renzo was home and hosed with a half-length to spare.

Racing in the colours of Fred Crabbia, Renzo’s last-start effort on Dec 2 was admirable.

That day, when up against Class 2 opponents for the first time, he made the board, finishing fourth to Sacred Gift.

Renzo had earned that promotion by putting together a race-to-race double.

He won a Class 4 race over the 1,200m on Sept 9 and followed it up on Sept 30 with victory in a Class 3 event, that time over the shorter 1,000m.

It will not be easy-peasy at his next start but Renzo is a fighter and with that win at the trials, he should be ripe and ready for whatever lies ahead.

As for Leatherhead, we know that he is already eight years old but watching him gallop you might think he is a frisky youngster.

He might think so, too.

Like that day on Oct 28, Leatherhead beat some nippy four and five-year-olds over the mile.

That was the 60th time he had faced the starter and the victory was his seventh. He is not done yet.

Earlier, in that opening trial on that overcast morning, Navy Seals fought off a spirited challenge from Twinkle Twinkle to take the honours by a head.

The field was reduced to five runners when trainer Tan Kah Soon withdrew two of his horses – Lonhro Gold and Centurion – from the action.

It left him with Navy Seals who duly obliged.

Ridden by Iskandar Rosman and jumping from the outermost chute, Navy Seals was at the rear when the field made that first turn on the far side.

But he made a forward move at the 600m and came into the reckoning when the runners fanned out for the run home.

Early leader, Twinkle Twinkle – who had Jeryln Seow in the saddle – was aware of the threat posed by Navy Seals but, when it mattered, she could not rouse her mount sufficiently and the Leslie Khoo-trained Twinkle Twinkle eventually went down by a head.

The fact that the runners were not pressed for speed in the early part of the trial resulted in Navy Seals clocking a pedestrian time of 1min 2.39sec.

A New Zealand-bred, Navy Seals has raced six times without success.

The win at the trials on Dec 26 was his first victory from four attempts. Perhaps now that it is done, we could see an improved show from the three-year-old who has been entered for the Class 5 race over the 1,800m on Dec 30.

If you are looking for something to juice up your novelty bets, toss in Navy Seals. He could salute – at a price.

brian@sph.com.sg