Give Charminton another chance
Unlucky in last outing, can make amends with regular rider Yusoff back in the saddle
Charminton was held in high esteem in his last start on Oct 29 with his impeccable record, but did not perform to expectations.
He could only finish fifth in the race won by stablemate Deception, who overtook him as the favourite at the last minute.
But one unplaced run does not make him a bad horse.
Give the Donna Logan-trained four-year-old New Zealand-bred another chance in Sunday’s $50,000 Class 4 race over the Polytrack 1,200m in the last of 12 events.
There is every reason to believe that the bay gelding by Charm Spirit should bounce back with a vengeance.
His fifth placing – the first time he was out of the top two in six starts – should be ignored.
He travelled beautifully in a handy fourth-fifth position until the straight. Just when he was starting to make his run, he ran into traffic.
He was held up from the 500m to the 400m on the long course.
By the time apprentice jockey Iskandar Rosman extricated Charminton for a clear run, his mount had lost the momentum and became one-paced.
But to finish just 2½ lengths behind his much-improved stablemate, who carried 6kg lighter, was a top effort.
Perhaps the biggest plus is that, on Sunday, Charminton will be reunited with his regular rider, apprentice jockey Yusoff Fadzli. The 2kg claimer knows the horse inside-out.
He was the pilot in the gelding’s three wins (twice on turf and once on Poly over the course and distance) and two seconds (1,100m on Poly and 1,200m on turf).
Once again, Charminton is drawn favourably – in Gate 3. He should get a nice run in transit and, barring bad luck, should be hard to run down.
He looked well within himself in his steady gallop on Tuesday, pulling up fresh as a daisy.
Harry Dream, who lost to Charminton two starts back on Oct 2, will be the main threat again.
Trainer Michael Clements has engaged leading jockey Manoel Nunes for the ride, replacing his 4kg claimer Ibrahim Mamat.
It is a strong jockey booking, no doubt, but Harry Dream has to offset a wide barrier.
This could hinder the come-from-behind mare’s chances of overhauling Charminton.
The other top bet is the Alwin Tan-trained Cash Cove in the $50,000 Class 4 event over the Poly 1,100m in Race 3.
The two-time winner from five starts has been working with gusto in the last couple of weeks.
He was probably the best worker in his final gallop on Tuesday, when he did a sizzling 34.3sec for 600m.
The three-year-old New Zealand-bred gets Nunes for this assignment but the Brazilian has a wide gate to overcome once more.
As the field does not look overly strong, with Teardrops being the only likely challenger, Cash Cove can deliver win No. 3 for his connection.
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