Strike Gold aimed at 3YO races

Ricardo Le Grange's patience was handsomely rewarded when Strike Gold finally returned to winning ways on Jan 14.

There were high hopes on the Iffraaj three-year-old colt right from Day 1, but they were somehow dashed shortly after.

The connections were so buoyed by his impressive July debut win that he was backed up for the Group 3 Singapore Golden Horseshoe (1,200m) within a week.

Unfortunately, he lost his momentum as a gap he was vying for at the 150m suddenly closed. He still ran a creditable sixth to Greatham Boy.

He then mixed his form, mostly in Novice company, even proving a handful when he was caught wide on more than one occasion.

He was particularly extravagant at his third outing in September when he struggled to take the turns in a 1,200m speed dash, hanging out badly before beating one home.

Earmuffs came on, but the results were far from conclusive.

Le Grange did not despair, though. The South African handler was convinced that an engine was still hidden under that bonnet, but just needed a bit more time to tune up - and a safe pair of hands.

He again went for another $75,000 Novice event on Jan 14, this time on the Polytrack 1,200m.

That seventh attempt to reproduce Strike Gold's first-up winning turn hit paydirt, aided in no small way by the booking of Brazilian jockey Bruno Queiroz.

"It was a good ride by Bruno. He won the race from the first 100m when he settled behind the early speed," said Le Grange.

"When you put on good jockeys, it makes a whole lot of difference. Bruno also rode him in trackwork, he's a very talented rider."

Le Grange was one of the first trainers to give Queiroz a leg-up when he arrived at Kranji last July.

In a dozen combinations, they had to wait until their 10th pairing to win a race - Taling Pling on Nov 18, with Strike Gold their second win together.

"Big thank you to Ricardo for giving me such a good horse to ride," said Queiroz.

"He's a very good horse. I think he can win a Group race one day.

"He pulls hard in trackwork but it was all perfect today. He's a horse who needs luck in his races.

"He can go over longer later."

Le Grange still stayed conservative with the trips for now.

More so when the first three-year-old feature race is staged over the winning distance, albeit on a different course - the Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1,200m) on April 6.

"I can't thank the Gold Stable and Eugene Yong enough for supporting (Le Grange's former master) Patrick Shaw and myself for 20-odd years," he said.

"I'm very glad they now have a horse who could go on to the 3YO races, but we'll take it one step at a time.

"I've always had a high regard for this horse. He will just get better and better with more racing, he's better than two starts ago.

"His parading manners were better today. He was in the air-conditioned stall to calm him down.

"He's still very immature, though. Anything, the slightest noise, would set him off, so he wears earmuffs, which I don't usually put on my horses.

"The older he gets, the more confident he will get. He's definitely got ability.

"I've trained him mentally to get the job done. It's the proverbial saying that once the penny will drop, he'll become a very nice horse."

From the way Queiroz rejoiced after the line, there is no doubt the second-year rider seconded Le Grange on that assessment.

But the clenched fist was also raised to celebrate another fruitful day in the saddle - a second Kranji four-timer that also featured wins on Silver Dragon, Nineoneone and Benbo, after a first on Oct 21.

"I'm very happy. I'm riding for more trainers, things are going well," said the 22-year-old, who returned empty-handed at his first 2024 meeting on Jan 6.

Tipped as five-time Singapore champion jockey and fellow Brazilian Manoel Nunes' main challenger in 2024, Queiroz already sits in third place on four wins - one off Nunes and Marc Lerner.

manyan@sph.com.sg