Dream Alliance makes it a one-horse affair

When bad weather and some withdrawals reduced what was to be a two-trial morning to just a single hit-out on May 7, trainer Tim Fitzsimmons hit the trifecta.

Then again, and to be fair to the rest, his three runners made up half the field.

And he made those numbers count.

Yes, numbers did make the difference and, when all was done and dusted, the runner with the highest rating took out the trial in a canter.

Dream Alliance, with his 89 rating points, proved much too strong for the competition and he ran home a winner by a commanding 5½ lengths.

Spirit Of Boom three-year-old Thunderstorm, with his rating of 46, took second while Avalanche (57) had to settle for third.

But, over the final stretch in the 1,000m sprint, it was a one-horse affair – Dream Alliance.

Disappointing at his last start in a Class 2 race (1,600m) when beaten by an almost identical margin in ninth place, the Into Mischief five-year-old was seemingly back in the groove.

Fourth on settling and still at least a dozen lengths behind the leading pair of Gold Medal Rose (Luis Corrales) and Sabah Win (Ruan Maia) at the 600m, he only began to make inroads when the field straightened for the run home.

About 300m out, Manoel Nunes had Dream Alliance sitting alone in third spot – but rapidly gaining on the leaders.

Up in his seat, Nunes knew he had a ton of a horse beneath him and he bided his time before sweeping to the front.

The manner in which he did that would have given the leaders windburn.

But horse and rider were clearly out for a grandstand finish and, for the chasing pack, they were, well, left chasing shadows.

The winner clocked 1min 01.65sec.

It was not a really fast time but, when one takes into account the fact that he was lolling around for two thirds of the 1,000m trip, the effort does seem admirable.

Already a winner of five races from 19 races, his big miss came in the biggest race of them all – the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2,000m) on Nov 11, 2023.

That day, he went down by a short head to Lim’s Kosciuszko.

His rider, Bruno Queiroz, tossed in an objection but it was thrown out.

Since then, the Legacy Power Racing Stable-owned galloper has had three unplaced outings.

But, on the strength of his win at that trial, he seems to be getting his act together in time for his assignment in the Group 1 Kranji Mile (1,600m) on May 18.

While trial runner-up Thunderstorm, with only two starts under his belt, may need more runs to really make any noise, third-placed Avalanche did serve notice of better things to come.

A handsome chestnut by Street Boss, he ran his best race at Kranji when third to Sabah Ace in a 1,400m contest on March 23.

Fitzsimmons has been patient with his four-year-old who, on Oct 30, 2022, won at his only start in Australia when known as Buttery – in a 1,200m race at Mornington in Victoria.

To date, he has had three outings at Kranji. But he is coming right, so keep him on your shortlist.

It could be sooner, rather than later, that he pops up at a price.

brian@sph.com.sg