Fresh off a hat-trick of wins last Sunday, trainer Stephen Gray is hoping that winning momentum can see stable favourite Kharisma return to winning ways in the $110,000 Group 3 Rocket Man Sprint (1200m) on Sunday.
The now seven-year-old son of Mossman last won in a Kranji Stakes A race (1200m) in January last year when he carried 58kgs.
With his rating hitting a career high of 105 points after his tenth win from 23 starts, his form tapered but not through lack of trying.
Kharisma had reached a rating peak which weighted him out of handicap races. And – as his trainer was more than happy to attest to – he was just not up to elite level at equal weights.
That is no slight on the horse – according to Gray – that kept the spirits up in the stables through the tough COVID-19 times and had plenty more to offer on the racetrack.
“He’s a lovely horse,” enthused the Kiwi conditioner on Tuesday.
“We owe him a bit too. Kharisma and (stablemate) Hard Too Think won during Covid-19 and that kept the stable going strong in tough days.
“His (Kharisma) biggest problem was that he performed above his ability. He won the handicap races though the grades but too quickly, so his rating went too high, too fast.
“While he was competitive in those good weight-for-age races, he is a handicapper at heart, so he needed to get into races like Sunday’s (Rocket Man Sprint) with a winning weight.
“And while these races are hard to win and he hasn’t won for a while, I think 51kgs is a fair weight for him in a compacted (weight-wise) field.”
Apart from Sky Eye who was handicapped at 57kgs off his rating of 100 points, Cyclone carried the second heaviest weight at 53.5kgs, and the remaining 10 runners will all be on the lighter end of the handicap scale in the second Leg of the STC Super Sprint series.
Moreover, Kharisma’s recent second behind Mr Malek in the first Leg of the series three starts ago – the Group 3 Kranji Sprint (1200m) on June 3 – can put him in a good stead for his possible first win at Group level.
“He (Kharisma) was good that day (in the Kranji Sprint),” continued Gray.
“We put an apprentice jockey (Rozlan Nazlam) on him the start before that (in a Class 1 race over 1200m on May 20) and I think carrying no weight (47.5kgs) gave him back some confidence.
“So we thought that at the set weights of the Kranji Sprint, he would go well. It was still a big effort for him to be only beaten a head by Mr Malek then when they carried the same weight (55.5kgs).
“And his run at his last start (in a Class 2 race over 1400m on July 23) was actually better than the fifth in the book.
“(Jockey) Marc (Lerner) said after the race that he was happy with the run given they went quick early and he (Kharisma) did the work to bring the field up to the bolting leaders.
“(Jockey) Shafrizal (Saleh) will ride him on Sunday as he (Kharisma) drops four-and-a-half-kilos after that run. He is better suited back over 1200m and he’s fit, so he’s a chance.”
The third and final Leg of the STC Super Sprint series will be the Group 1 Lion City Cup (1200m) held on August 27.
Of his three winners last Sunday – Ksatria ($54) in the Class 5 Division 1 race over 1200m, Clergyman ($65) in the Class 5 race over 1400m and Bransom ($22) in the Class 4 Division 1 race over 1000m – Gray thought the latter is a horse to follow through the grades.
“I was really proud to get three winners last Sunday,” said Gray, who has been training in Singapore since 2000.
“We only have 30 odd horses, so to get 10% winning on the one day won’t happen too often.
“I was happy for Ksatria (x Reliable Man) and Clergyman (x Artie Schiller), but I thought Bransom was our best hope on the day and he got the job done.
“He’s bred to be fast (x Brazen Beau) and he’s tough too, which is ideal for Singapore racing. He also handles the Poly(track) as his speed puts him into races and is hard to pass.
“There is another Class 4 race over 1000m for him in a couple of weeks (on August 20) so we will let him go the grades in races like that before we get him back on the turf.
“He wasn’t an expensive buy but he has some great owners involved, including Eric (Koh) from Team Cheval (Stable), his friends from the Goldenhill Stable and some of my owners, so it’s good fun and hopefully he can win a few more races.”
