Kharisma continues to inspire with his winning form
A step up in grade proved to be no problem for Kharisma (Mossman) as the progressive galloped made it back-to-back wins by taking out the Class 3 race over 1200 metres on the Kranji Polytrack yesterday.
The four-year-old, who last scored at Class 4 level on all-weather, was this time pitted against much better rivals, including the likes of Heartening Flyer (Excelebration) and other established Class 3 runners like Magic Wand (Star Witness) and Gold Star (Redente).
Kharisma still beat them fair and square on the back of a smart winning display that speaks volumes about his untapped potential.
After tracking up pacesetter Water Rocket (Orpen), he skipped clear at the 300 metres under Troy See to clock 1min 11.23secs for the 1200-metre trip on the Polytrack.
Winning trainer Stephen Gray said Kharisma, now the winner of five of his 12 starts, was a promising sort who could never be faulted for lack of trying, and was only beaten by bad luck.
“I was very impressed with today’s win. He’s a horse who’s enjoying his racing and is quite genuine,” he said.
“I thought he was in a strong race today, especially with Mike’s (Clements) horse (Heartening Flyer) in, but with the right horse, we showed we can beat them.
“He’s a horse that always tries hard but was beaten by bad luck before. Today, he got a drop of one kilo (from See’s claim), and he was able to go to another level.
“Troy can ride and the fact he can claim one kilo made the difference.”
A modest See played down his contribution by saying he was only applying the trainer’s instructions to the letter.
“The instructions were perfect. All the credit should go to Steve,” said the former Singapore champion apprentice.
“Nobody came across to go forward, so I took my own initiative to posie up outside the leader. The rest was pretty straightforward.”
Masterful ride from Harry gets Meryl home
A’Isisuhairi Kasim looked in a precarious spot when his saddle slipped back badly over Meryl’s (Rock ‘N’ Pop) rump at a crucial stage of Class 4 race over 1600 metres, but the raw riding instincts he picked up from a young age helped him not only stay on board, but also win.
As a kid growing up in Kelantan, Kasim rode bareback on ponies that roam the streets of the north-eastern Malaysian state and yesterday’s ride must have time-travelled him back to those days.
Just when Meryl was peeled out for her run at the top of the straight, A’Isisuhairi suddenly found himself in trouble, but “Harry”, as he is popularly known, didn’t let that untimely setback break his confidence or momentum for too long. Somehow, he rebalanced his body and riding rhythm, which enabled him to extract the best out of James Peters’ mare, storming in late to just get the verdict by a nose from Lim’s Unique (Uncle Mo).
“At the 400 metres, I could already feel unbalanced, but she was responding so well I had to keep riding her out,” said A’Isisuhairi.
“The saddle then went right back, but I was able to stay on, and she was very brave to the line. She really deserved that win as she had to be used up from the wide draw at her last start.
“Today, she took a while to get going, but I thought I’d just leave her alone. She came back underneath me and I’m not surprised at all she quickened the way she did.”
Ablest resumes Ascend to the top
Ablest Ascend (Charm Spirit) bounced back to winning ways as he returned from a freshen-up to see off the challenge of all comers under his favourite leading tactics in the Class 4 race over 1000 metres.
Man Of Mystery (All Too Hard) made it interesting late but could not peg back the favourite, finishing half a length away in second.
Ridden by two kilogram claiming senior jockey Shafrizal Saleh, Ablest Ascend clocked 59.02 seconds for the Polytrack speed scamper, pleasing champion trainer Michael Clements no end with his victorious comeback.
“I did have some concerns with the pressure from the horse on the outside (Magnifique), but Shafrizal was able to get him to relax,” said the Zimbabwean-born handler.
“He used his good barrier and gate speed to go forward. The two-kilo claim also helped, and he was strong to the line.
“I’ll probably look for a similar Class 4 race over a sprint distance for him next.”
Happy days for Happy Friday
After knocking on the door a couple of times, Happy Friday (Shooting To Win) finally gave connections reasons to enjoy a first celebratory drink as the four-year-old put it all together in the open maiden over 1200 metres on the Polytrack, beating Ima (Helmet) by half a length.
“It’s all about the timing. Last time, he kicked to the front too early and he stopped,” said winning rider John Sundradas.
“Today, the pace suited him and I waited longer for that last kick in the straight. It’s just nice that the two horses in front kicked at the same time and were going at the same speed.
“That allowed us to chase them for a longer time. Everything went good for him today.”
The former champion apprentice moved to third place on eight winners, one behind leader Marc Lerner, in the Singapore jockeys’ premiership when he completed a double on Arion Success (Real Saga) in the Class 4 race over 1100 metres on Polytrack.