Rambo returns all guns blazing

Rambo showed on Saturday that when things go his way, victory can certainly be at the receiving end.

Named after the famous action movie series starring Sylvester Stallone, the Argentinian-bred seven-year-old showed he had an engine from Day 1.

However, an off-and-on campaign beset by niggling issues and a major injury has kept him in his box more often than on the tracks.

Just when a record of four seconds finally translated into success in November 2021, scans found chips in the hock.

Still, when Rambo recovered and returned post-surgery after nearly 600 days, he stunningly picked up where he left off, earning his handler Daniel Meagher plenty of pats on his back for the training feat.

The fairy tale was shortlived, though.

Three successive defeats when subsequently stepped up to Class 3 might suggest the son of Heliostatic had reached his peak, but Saturday’s brilliant win under Marc Lerner in the $70,000 Gilt Complex 2017 Stakes, a Class 3 race over 1,600m, clearly proved otherwise.

Meagher revealed that the real roadblock had been the gelding’s inclination to get above himself.

“He’s a difficult horse with a temperament,” said the Australian, who took the Group 1 Raffles Cup (1,600m) with Lim’s Kosciuszko.

“At his second-last start, he jumped a shadow and nearly dumped Marc at the 1,200m.

“He’s a quirky horse, we put a shadow roll on but it didn’t help him, so we went back to basics. It was a really good satisfying win.

“Ari (Nor Ari Yadi), his track rider, does a great job, and looks after him as well.

“I thought the horse could lead today, but there was a lot of pressure in front, and Marc was very smart. He’s the man for the job and rode another beautiful race.”

The French jockey has been riding the crest of a wave with eight winners in the two weeks – three of them for Meagher – leading up to Saturday’s meeting.

He was anything but blase about yet another visit to the winner’s circle, albeit the only one for the day, especially as Rambo can be his own worst enemy at times.

“We didn’t have much planned. We just wanted things to happen right for him,” he said.

“He was a bit unlucky at his last two starts. He has ability, he can also go further than 1,600m, but everything must go right on the day.

“He needs the pace on or he gets worked up so much. Otherwise, we would have led today.

“Dan has always said he was better than Saturno Spring. He has potential but he always puts himself under pressure.

“Dan has brought a few changes to his training. Argentinian-breds can cop more work, so he made him work harder.”

From barrier No. 1, Rambo ($21) actually landed in front without forcing, but handed up the lead when outsider Per Incrown (Koh Teck Huat) swept past down the backstraight.

When $13 favourite Bestseller (Bernardo Pinheiro) slid up to the outside of Per Incrown to inject more speed into the race, Lerner must have giggled to himself.

Upon straightening, Rambo drew first blood, with favourite Istataba (Manoel Nunes) and Relentless (Vlad Duric) in hot pursuit.

But a combative Rambo never shirked the fight to the end, hitting the line one length clear of a keen battle for the minors that the handicapper would be proud of.

A blanket could be thrown over the next six past the post, covering less than one length from the runner-up Istataba to the seventh-placed horse, Trumpy (Bruno Queiroz).

A short head split Istataba and Relentless in third, with another short head to Sacred Command (Benny Woodworth).

Fifth-placed Street Cry Success (Wong Chin Chuen) was another head away, beating Bestseller by a similar margin, with Trumpy whipping up the cluster another ½-length away.

The winning time was 1min 34.46sec for the 1,600m on the short course.

In 16 starts, Rambo has chalked up three wins and five seconds for stakes earnings of around the $155,000 mark for the Lim’s Stable.