Release The Spirit in the mood to win

It should have been a third win from seven starts.

In that Class 4A race over 1,020m at the Selangor Turf Club on Aug 24, Release The Spirit carried not just stable confidence, but also the support of racing fans in the grandstand. However, it was not to be.

Everything went wrong for the $15 favourite, who could manage only fourth in that sprint event won by Wealthyness.

Not only was the Richard Lines-trained galloper "awkwardly placed" at the 800m, but he also shifted out at the 700m, and raced wide thereafter.

After the race, jockey Oscar Chavez was examined by the medical team and was stood down for the rest of the programme as he was feeling unwell.

Come Sept 21, Release The Spirit will get another chance to add to his two wins. As part of his preparation, his British handler sent him out for a spot of work on the morning of Sept 16.

The Nicconi four-year-old ran the 600m in a fluent 39.3sec, with which Lines would have been pleased.

One of 14 runners from the bumper team from Lines' yard, Release The Spirit will be contesting the upcoming Class 4B event over 1,150m, which should suit the handsome chestnut.

If there is to be trouble for the 59kg topweight, it could come from one of the bottomweights - Iron Samurai. The son of Shamexpress will be carrying 55.5kg in the same race.

Trained by Lim Shung You, the six-year-old galloper stopped the clock in 39.4sec and, on the strength of that gallop, he - like Release The Spirit - will also be looking to add another win to his resume.

But Iron Samurai will be looking to post his seventh win at his 32nd start.

The New Zealand-bred's Malaysian trainer bagged a double with Give Me Five and Imperial Ripple on Sept 14.

Now Lim has entered a small team of four for the upcoming races and he will be hoping Iron Samurai can add to that winning run.

Another "Samurai" who looks sharp for the meeting on Sept 21 is Silver Samurai, who is also from Lim's stable.

He tossed in a decent workout, clocking 39.9sec for the 600m.

The six-year-old son of Hellbent has won twice from just eight starts.

He opened his account at his second start in a Class 4B race (1,200m) on Nov 10, 2024, and posted his second victory on July 27 when he beat a Class 4B field over the 1,300m.

If there is to be trouble for Silver Samurai, the fight might come from his stablemate, Imperial Wave.

A five-year-old Australian-bred, this son of Shamus Award did a pleasing workout when running the 600m in 37.9sec.

The assignment coming up will be his second start and his owners - the Imperial Stable - will be looking for an improved run from Aug 17.

That day, against a competitive field of Supreme C racers, Imperial Wave showed his worth when running a close-up fifth in that event won by Pacific Star.

In fairness, he did not have the smoothest of runs, but still managed to finish just 3¼ lengths behind the winner.

It is worth noting that the race was over the 1,800m, and it could have been a little too long for his liking.

Imperial Wave has ability. In one of his six starts in Australia where he was known as Super Sleuth and trained by Matt Laurie, he won a Maiden Plate at Mornington in Victoria.

That was on Sept 6, 2024, when he beat a field of 12 over the 1,500m.

Now at Sungai Besi, he seems to be on the improve, and it will not come as a huge surprise to see him make the board in the shorter 1,300m race.

Could we be looking at a quinella from Lim in that Class 4A race? The stable is in form, and so is the team of four horses entered for the meeting.

brian@sph.com.sg