Ejaz on song again, can bounce back to his best

Forget that last-start bomb-out when Ejaz flopped and finished last in that race won by dead-heaters January and Aniki.

It was totally out of character. Even that man in the saddle thought so, too.

Manoel Nunes noted Ejaz did not respond to his riding and he reckoned his mount did not appreciate the firm underfoot conditions.

He must be right as Ejaz is better than that.

Indeed, he has been touted in some quarters as a contender for the big races coming up.

They are right, you know.

Not many gallopers can win four races from just seven starts – which is what Ejaz has done since making his Kranji debut way back on July 24, 2022.

Yes, he has been sparingly raced.

His former trainer Michael Clements sent him out to face the starter just five times in 2022.

He won four of them, with the only blemish coming when he took third to Fadaboy in a Restricted Maiden race over 1,200m on debut.

He finished two and a half lengths behind the winner.

His fourth win came at his last start for his former trainer. That was on March 12, 2023.

That race was also over the 1,200m and he nosed out King Zoustar.

Yes, by all accounts, it was a good inning for the son of Street Boss.

However, Ejaz succumbed to a knee injury after that win. His Singapore 3YO Challenge hopes went up in smoke, his future hung in the balance.

He underwent surgery and, luckily, he recovered. But, when Clements wound up his Kranji adventure last September, his horses went elsewhere, including Ejaz, who took up residence at trainer Steven Burridge’s yard.

But, it seems, he still has to settle in.

Indeed, he has only had two runs for Burridge. He took fourth on Feb 15 and, as we now know, he finished last in that other one.

There are more wins in that frame of his and the next one – which would be a first for Burridge – could come sooner rather than later.

Ejaz was at the trials on April 16 and, true to his 71-point rating, he won that one without having to raise much of a sweat.

Ridden by Nunes and jumping from gate No. 3 in that six-horse affair, Ejaz seemed to clear the chute cleanly.

However, Nunes seemed in a pickle of sorts.

He was seen fumbling with his offside stirrup, but, being the experienced hoop that he is, he quickly regained that lost iron.

That problem out of the way, he found the front at the 600m mark and from then on, he dictated the pace and pattern of the trial.

The others tried to cut into his lead.

Ridden by former champion apprentice Troy See (now back as a track rider), the Richard Lim-trained Wan Legacy threw in an effort. It was fruitless. So too with Condor.

But class was on the side of Ejaz who, under a tight hold, went to the line to beat Wan Legacy by half a length.

Of the beaten brigade, Condor (Ryan Curatolo), who took third, was most impressive.

Prepared by Tim Fitzsimmons, the Encryption three-year-old opened his Kranji account in a Restricted Maiden race over the 1,000m on Sept 30.

He finished third on Nov 18 and, at his last race, on Dec 30, he went down by a nose to Colonel Son.

Condor, who was flown in from Australia on Jan 30, 2023, has yet to show up in a race in 2024.

But, there is an engine under that bonnet, and like the big bird he is named after, he might just fly in.

brian@sph.com.sg