Mariana Trench digs deep to score

A quick back-up and a dash of improvisation went a long way in extracting a second win from Mariana Trench on Saturday.

The Kermadec four-year-old last raced in a Class 4 event over the Polytrack mile on Feb 12.

He made some ground that day, but never posed a real threat to the winner Mesmerizing.

As the chestnut had pulled up well from his last start, trainer Michael Clements decided to saddle him up again in Saturday’s $50,000 Class 4 race.

It was over a trip he was tackling for the first time, but which he had been building up towards – the 2,000m.

The only hitch was the outermost alley in nine.

But jockey A’Isisuhairi “Harry” Kasim, who was aboard at all his previous three 2023 prep runs, took luck out of the equation.

The Malaysian jockey had a strong hunch Mariana Trench could buck the come-from-behind pattern and muster enough speed to roll forward.

After jostling for early supremacy and seeing that second favourite Ima (Manoel Nunes) would not yield the lead, A’Isisuhairi dropped anchor on his girth instead.

Just before the home turn, Ima was sending signals of distress. Without waiting any second longer, A’Isisuhairi let Mariana Trench go through his gears and scoot off.

Behind, nothing much was making ground, except for Laksana and Melody Fair, who eventually filled the minor spots in that order.

“Harry used his initiative to just let him stride on, which clearly suited him today,” said Clements.

“It depended on the speed and how he came out of the barriers, but Harry came out quick.

“He’s a horse who previously needed to have some cover in the race or he’d overrace. But I think with time and maturity, he’s settling down now.”

While Clements credited A’Isisuhairi for the masterstroke, the modest rider said it was a team decision to mix and match a little.

“The barrier was not ideal. I then said to Michael Clements, let’s see how he jumps,” said A’Isisuhairi.

“I would love to be a little closer because it’s been tough for him to chase from where he was.

“Today, he jumped well, and was a lot closer. He was nice and relaxed, and at the top of the straight, I knew I had something in hand.”

Burning a bit of petrol to come across can be a recipe for disaster. But, with stayers, jockeys know there will be more than a few drops left in the tank at the business end.

“This horse has been running good races. I was sticking with him,” said A’Isisuhairi.

“He stepped up from last week, and I know he can take the distance. But it was tough for him last week to make up ground from further back – he still ran a good fifth.

“Today, he was relaxed over 2,000m, and in the last 600m, I knew he had something to give me.

“Definitely, he can go the distance. 1,800m to 2,000m, no issue because he can relax.”

Clements was on the same page as the Kelantan-born lightweight rider, except that the 2020 Singapore champion trainer had cottoned on to that stamina even earlier.

“He’s a horse that certainly showed us that he was capable of going up in trip early on at his first few preparations,” said Clements, who is back on top of the leaderboard following a hat-trick of wins that also featured Iron Ruler and The Shadow on Saturday.

“Like with all stayers or longer distance horses, they do take time to come to hand. So we’ve been patient with him.

“We’ve given him time. He’s obviously got a bit of ability, because he was also placed over 1,200m this preparation.

“So, he’s a horse who’s shown us ability earlier on, hopefully he’ll show it to us now.”

An engine had always been ticking under Mariana Trench’s bonnet, but luck had often deserted him, especially given his hold-up pattern.

The Tivic Stable, which is never one to skimp on quality, even had three-year-old designs for him in 2022.

But though he was in the mix, he obviously was not cut from the same cloth as Tivic’s former 3YO heroes Stepitup or Bold Thruster.

He eventually skirted around the Singapore Three-Year-Old Challenge for softer targets.

While it is unlikely he would have tested the clean sweeper Golden Monkey, he finally lived up to his potential on his seventh outing in a Restricted Maiden (1,600m) on July 31.

Then, he stormed home from the rear to leave what was to become one of 2022’s new sensations in his wake, Street Of Dreams.

At three starts this prep, he either met traffic problems or was caught wide, but he is now back on track.