Kharisma leads Gray trifecta

For want of a better word, it was a “gray” morning at the trials on Jan 9.

Officials and attendants tasked with getting the two hit-outs underway were togged up in their wet weather outfits and the Polytrack surface was sloppy and sloshy.

But even as the rain – or heavy drizzle – doused the racetrack, not everything was as dismal as it appeared.

Take trainer Stephen Gray. He would have been a happy man. After all, his horses at the trials seemed to lap up the adverse conditions and they ended the morning taking both hit-outs.

Indeed, Gray pulled off the trifecta in the first trial when Kharisma beat Silent Is Gold, which left Hard Too Think to take the “bronze”.

Then, in the second trial, Gray’s runner, Our Pinnacle, beat the Mahadi Taib-trained Bureaucrat to complete a good day for the affable conditioner.

Just so it is not all about Gray, jockey Matthew Kellady would have been pleased with both the mounts he was entrusted with.

Yes, he was astride Kharisma in the first and later legged up on Our Pinnacle.

Kellady used to do most of his riding for former Kranji trainer Shane Baertschiger.

But since “Stretch” stopped training at Kranji, he has been offering his services elsewhere.

Indeed, at the just-concluded meeting on Jan 6, Kellady helped juice up two trifectas when he parked two big-priced rides into third spot.

Volcanic was a $272 hope when third to Pacific Sonic in Race 9 while Webster, a $107 chance, filled third spot in the last race which was won by Flying Nemo.

Back to the trials and Kharisma had to fight for honours.

Then again, it could be said that for all of the 1,000m, the trial was between Kellady’s mount and Silent Is Gold, who was partnered by apprentice Jamil Sarwi.

They dictated things from the get-go and, as they raced down the home stretch, they looked to be locked as one.

However, under the gentle hands of Kellady, who nursed his mount along, Kharisma prevailed by half a length, with Silent Is Gold hardly disgraced.

Kharisma clocked 1min 00.99sec, which was highly commendable given the wet conditions.

Although getting on in years, Kharisma can still land some knockout blows.

Take that last win on Aug 6. It was the Rocket Man Sprint, a Singapore Group 3 race run over 1,200m on grass.

Kharisma was parked in midfield and it was doubtful if his rider, Shafrizal Saleh, could extricate him from that position.

But he did and, when Kharisma saw daylight close home, he went for broke and, in the process, beat Pacific Emperor by three parts of a length. He then took fourth behind Lim’s Kosciuszko in the Lion City Cup on Aug 27.

Gray entered him for five more races before closing the book on his 2023 campaign.

Kharisma is hardly a spent force and he deserves a second look the next time he goes to the races.

As for Silent Is Gold, we know that he has a ton of racing left in him.

It was two starts back on Nov 11 that he notched up his sixth career win.

That was in classy company and he beat Gold Star by three parts of a length.

Then, at his last start, on Dec 17, he garnered a busload of new fans when he finished second – beaten by under a length by that brilliant galloper, Super Salute.

Yes, at just five years old, Silent Is Gold is the real deal and we should see more big runs from him in the high-class races coming up.

As for that other Gray-Kellady winner on Jan 9, Our Pinnacle has been off the boil for the better part of a year.

Hopefully, that win at the trials will rekindle some spark in the nine-year-old. Gray, who owns and trains the galloper, will be keeping his fingers crossed.

brian@sph.com.sg