Silent Is Gold shines at trials

It was clearly a case of the cream rising to the top when Silent Is Gold won his 1,000m trial on the morning of March 5.

Rated a lofty 92 – and deserving of every point – the multiple winner from Stephen Gray’s yard came home with just ½-length to spare from Nimbus Cloud.

But the margin did not matter. The manner in which he beat the field was what stood out.

Silent Is Gold was certainly not out to make a big noise. Indeed, if we could guess, the instructions to rider Jamil Sarwi could have been short and sweet.

“Go out and bring him home. But save him and you do not have to blitz the field.”

So off they went and Jamil was not the least perturbed when his mount had just two behind him when the field of seven had settled.

Although having to take the scenic route home, Silent Is Gold made a forward move when they negotiated the 600m marker and it was not long before he claimed the lead.

With his feet planted firmly in the irons, Jamil seemed to enjoy the sedan chair ride.

As for Silent Is Gold, he wanted to go faster but that was not the plan so Jamil kept him on a tight rein.

Nimbus Cloud, the mount of Krisna Thangamani, tried to throw a spanner into the works but it was a case of Class 1 versus Class 4 and the Gray-trained five-year-old was not intimidated.

He held off that challenge to take the trial in a modest time of 1min 01.24sec.

Super Bowl, from Stephen Crutchley’s yard, stayed around for third, another length away.

But, on the day, rating points do matter and Silent Is Gold made it blatantly clear.

A son of Star Turn, Silent Is Gold posted his last victory on Jan 20 when he beat Golden Monkey and company in a sprint over the 1,200m.

Golden Monkey would return the favour – with interest – in the Fortune Bowl.

As for Silent Is Gold, he finished seventh.

Well, that was that and while the defeat was thorough, Silent Is Gold does seem to have licked his wounds and, on the strength of that win at the trials, he could be getting close to an eighth career victory.

As for the beaten brigade, mention must go to the showing put up by Nimbus Cloud.

Far from being a sprinter, Nimbus Cloud showed good speed and, against any other horse, he would have taken the trial.

Trained by Mahadi Taib, the four-year-old Irish-bred has been a good horse to have in the yard.

From just eight race starts, he has racked up a couple of wins, two second-place showings and a third.

Not bad for a youngster who arrived unraced on July 23, 2022.

Career-wise, Nimbus Cloud got busy rather quickly and he opened his Kranji account at his third race start on March 25.

He followed it up with another win on July 30.

Since then, he has been under wraps but Mahadi does look to be working towards having his charge return to the racing scene sooner rather than later.

Mahadi would also have been pleased with the showings of Anyway and Sebastian.

They dominated proceedings in the opening trial and finished in that order with Anyway – the mount of Iskandar Rosman – clocking a time of 1:00.93 for the 1,000m.

Ridden by Krisna, Sebastian finished a ½-length adrift with the Leslie Khoo-trained Tennet Tentennet slotting in for third under a strong ride from Bruno Queiroz.

A seven-year-old, Anyway has been off the scene since winning a Class 5 contest on June 24.

Watch him at his next start. He could help juice up those novelty bets.

Keep an eye also on Tennet Tentennet.

Unsighted in the early stages of the trial, Queiroz “tested” him at the 250m mark and he responded, quickly giving chase to the leading pack.

But the Brazilian hoop never got him to do more than was necessary and, with the finishing line looming, he allowed the three-year-old’s momentum to carry him to the post.

Tennet Tentennet is a galloper going places. He has so far punched home two wins for the Grand Stable and there is more from where those came from.

Yes, the former top jockey-turned-trainer has got a good one in the yard and more wins should be forthcoming.

brian@sph.com.sg