Fitzsimmons’ Silver Bowl pair impress

The results at the just-concluded meeting did not go the way he expected.

Tim Fitzsimmons, chasing Michael Clements and Jason Lim in the race for training honours, drew a rare blank with his eight runners.

The best he did was saddle runner-up Kick in the Class 4 sprint over the 1,200m.

But we know, you cannot hold down a good man for too long and, come Sunday, Fitzsimmons could get back in the groove.

He has entered 15 runners for the 12-race programme and he has two – Golden Monkey and Dream Alliance – in the 1,400m feature of the day.

That is the $110,000 Group 3 Silver Bowl, the first leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge.

True to form, the pair were out on the training track on Tuesday morning and both came through their stretch-outs in good order.

Golden Monkey ran out the 600m in 40.7sec while Dream Alliance covered the same distance in 39.4. Both were unextended.

Fitzsimmons would have been pleased. And why not?

Golden Monkey has been one of his “go to” runners in the big races and already we have seen him do the job.

The good-looking chestnut took out the 2022 Group 3 Singapore Three-Year-Old Sprint (1,200m) and the Group 2 Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic (1,400m).

He earned the Champion Three-Year-Old title.

His resume would have been even more impressive had he won the Group 2 EW Barker Trophy (1,400m).

Alas, he was soundly beaten by Lim’s six-wins-in-a-row star and Silver Bowl favourite Super Salute.

Golden Monkey gets into the Silver Bowl on the back of two good trials and Tuesday’s workout will certainly help put the polish on his already handsome coat.

As for Dream Alliance, Fitzsimmons will say he has been a good horse to have in the barn.

Three times already, he has greeted the judge and that has been from only nine race starts.

He has also finished second on three other occasions.

Like his stablemate, he also has had a good trial in May.

That day, he ran a half-length second to Mongol Warrior, clocking 1min 00.85sec for the Polytrack 1,000m.

Dream Alliance is in fine fettle and the Silver Bowl distance of 1,400m is his forte – all his victories were over the trip.

Expect him to have plenty of admirers on Sunday.

Also out on the training track was the Michael Clements-trained Istataba.

The only mare in the Silver Bowl, she gets some weight relief and will have just 55.5kg, as opposed to the 57kg that the “boys” will have to carry.

A winner of four races from 15 starts, Istataba went over the 600m in 39.

She will bring form into the race.

Last time, when sent out as a $170 roughie, the “lady” very nearly pulled it off.

But she did not have the best of luck in the running and, on the day, could not mow down the winner, Invincible Tycoon.

While the 1,400m might seem a tad short for her, she brings form into the race and still looks good to be a giant slayer.

On paper, Renzo looks outclassed.

He carries a rating of 62, while “big shots” like Super Salute and Golden Monkey have ratings of 96 and 90 respectively.

But these are just numbers. When a galloper like Renzo takes the bit and goes for broke, anything can happen.

Prepared by Ricardo Le Grange, Renzo had bang-in-form jockey Bernardo Pinheiro in the saddle when he disposed of the 600m in a leisurely 43.

It was on May 30 that he won his trial by six lengths – easing up. That day, he returned 1:00.39 for the Poly 1,000m.

That effort, coupled with his work on the training track, does elevate him to “something good” in the Silver Bowl.

And we know he will enjoy the track and trip.

On the undercard, keep an eye on Mr Black Back, another galloper from Fitzsimmons’ stable.

He worked well, running the 600m in 40.4 and he could atone for that dismal show in the $1 million Kranji Mile, which was won by Lim’s Kosciuszko on May 20.

Mr Black Back gets into Sunday’s race with a nice weight in the Class 2 event over 1,600m on turf.

He has to shoulder only 51kg and it should work to his advantage.

The five-year-old son of Snitzel has won two races from just eight starts.

A beaten favourite in the 2022 Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup, he can give his backers plenty to cheer.