Gray can have a fruitful day

It has so far been a decent six months for trainer Stephen Gray.

He sits in fourth spot on the trainers’ log, led by Jason Lim with 26 winners.

With 19 hits for the season, he is just one behind 2022 champion Tim Fitzsimmons.

Gray came through the last meeting with a winner from just two entries.

Bransom obliged in the eighth to put two on the board from four starts.

He is going to win more races.

Gray has entered six runners for Saturday’s 12-race programme and he could fashion a win – maybe two or three – with Prioritize, Dancing Tycoon and King’s Speech.

On a fine Tuesday morning, all three were turned out in good order.

Prioritize ran out the 600m trip in 38.6sec while Dancing Tycoon had a partner in King’s Speech.

The pair never missed a beat, covering the same distance in 39.7.

Dancing Tycoon had the services of Yusoff Fadzli while Simon Kok was the pilot on King’s Speech.

But let us talk about Prioritize first.

His last four runs, beginning on April 8, read: 3-2-2-2.

If anything, they were frustrating figures which could easily have been translated into victories had it not been for some “racing incidents”.

When running third to Wind Trail on April 8, he was slow to begin and had to race wide from the 800m mark.

Then came that defeat by Free Fallin’ on April 23.

That day, he was checked after the start. To make a bad thing even worse, he again had to race wide – and without cover.

Three weeks later, on May 14, when hammered down to $7 at the windows, Prioritize made it uncomfortable for his jockey, Manoel Nunes, when he laid in under pressure in the straight.

Gray and the Priority Racing Stable deserve better and, over the 1,700m on Saturday, Prioritize could come through for a well-deserved victory.

As for Dancing Tycoon and King’s Speech, both will relish being in Class 5 and should make your shortlist for Saturday.

Dancing Tycoon was a good thing beaten on May 27.

That day, with Yusoff in the saddle, racegoers sent him off as the $24 second pick.

Carrying 57kg and having clear passage throughout the 1,200m contest, Dancing Tycoon came home with a flourish.

But he could not reel in Star Empire, who romped home with just 51.5kg on his back.

Dancing Tycoon has licked those wounds of defeat and, having only his second run in Class 5 company, he should put in a decent run.

The only question mark is the Polytrack.

To date, all his races have been on the turf.

But he should handle the alternate surface, having once won a 1,000m trial in a smart 1min 00.98sec.

Unlike Dancing Tycoon, who has had just 13 runs, King’s Speech has, so to speak, “been there and done that”.

He has faced the starter a whopping 52 times for six wins and a neat $234,787 in the bank.

Not bad at all for a Class 5 runner.

King’s Speech’s last win was on Nov 26. That was in a 2,000m race and, this season, Gray has sent him to the races eight times.

Of note were his last two outings. Both times, he found one to beat.

In his last start on May 27 when, having to race wide, King’s Speech came home like a bullet train.

But he could not reel in Zoffspeed, who prevailed by a nostril.

The old boy deserves better and, being the honest galloper that he is, we can expect a good run from him when he goes over the 1,700m on Saturday.

Gray’s other entries – Holy Eleanor, Liebestraum and last-start winner Wecando – also looked fit when put through their paces. They could also make their presence felt.

Outside of Gray’s top threesome, Major King would have had plenty of “likes” after his work on the training track.

From Jason Ong’s yard, Major King worked well, running the 600m in 40.7, unextended.

So far, the four-year-old has been a quiet achiever for Ong and the Happy Baby Stable.

Twice already in his short career, he has delivered the goods. Had it not been for a torrid passage in that last start on June 3, it could easily have been three wins from six.

But it was not to be. Major King was slow to begin and had to be steadied near the 1,000m mark and, as if that was not enough, he had to race wide.

Third place was all he could manage.

But the son of Per Incanto does seem to have that fighting spirit. While he does meet some “talents” like Pacific Hero and Knight’s Gambit, Major King should be right up there at the finish.