Things are once again looking up for Renzo

Renzo may be hitting form at the right time after he was seen in his element at the trials on Tuesday morning.

The son of Orpen ran third at his last three Kranji starts, but has overall been struggling to regain the form which saw him post three career wins from 23 starts.

But, if his sparkling trial form is anything to go by, Renzo would not surprise if he puts up a forward run in the first leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge, the Group 3 Silver Bowl (1,400m) on June 11.

Sent off from an inside chute in a small four-horse trial, Renzo was quickly in control of things.

But, just when he appeared to be settling nicely into a rhythm, Nimbus Cloud ruffled his mane when taking the lead at the 600m.

Renzo’s pilot Bernardo Pinheiro kept a cool head and watched as Nimbus Cloud tried to run away with the trial.

However, the three-year-old was to be responsible for his own downfall.

Ridden by Krisna Thangamani, Nimbus Cloud took the home turn wide and looked unsettled – maybe even uncomfortable – within himself.

With third-placed runner April not making much inroads into the lead carved out by the two front runners, Renzo and Nimbus Cloud were allowed to do their thing in the home straight.

Turning on the power at the 250m mark, Renzo gradually pulled away from trainer Mahadi Taib’s runner to take the trial by six lengths.

Another 7¼ lengths away was April, the mount of Marc Lerner.

Prepared by Ricardo Le Grange, Renzo’s last win was more than a year ago.

That day, on April 9, the Argentinian-bred turned in a winning performance, beating Lim’s Knight by a neck in a 1,100m sprint on the Polytrack.

It was a good win and he was expected to make it a race-to-race double.

So it was, together with Reignite, he was sent off as the $14 equal favourite.

It could be said he blew it at the start when awkwardly away. Reignite took the honours, winning that 1,200m race by ½-length.

Renzo had six more starts in 2022 and picked up minor cheques for finishing third (twice) and fourth (twice).

Le Grange raced him five times this season and that was where we saw him take third on three occasions.

Renzo looks to be coming along nicely and it could pay to keep him on your shortlist in the Silver Bowl.

As for runner-up Nimbus Cloud, he is still learning. When Mahadi irons out those rough edges, he could be one horse to reckon with.

A three-year-old Irish-bred, Nimbus Cloud has one win to his credit, but he still has that tendency to “hang out” in his races.

We saw that twice before.

While not a factor in the Singapore Three-Year-Old Classic over the 1,400m on May 6, he sat third, then hung out badly from the 750m mark.

It was the same in that other race on Feb 25. He chose the scenic route from the 600m and it put paid to his chances.

Then, in Tuesday’s trial, he gave us an encore.

Taking the lead from Renzo at the top of the back stretch, he hung out from the 600m mark and it allowed Renzo to sneak back in.

Right now, we know that Nimbus Cloud has got a good turn of foot.

In recording his only win in four starts, he led from pillar to post over the mile.

The day when he can be kept on a straight course will be the day he wins his second Kranji race.

It could be sooner rather than later.

In the last of three trials, Lightning Strike gave a hint of nice things to come when he won that hit-out in a fighting finish with eight-year-old campaigner Lonhro Gold.

A new addition to Tim Fitzsimmons’ yard, Lightning Strike tracked third into the trial and made his move only at the 200m mark.

Adamant that he would not be upstaged by a frisky three-year-old, Lonhro Gold dug in. But when jockey Daniel Moor spurred the youngster into action, they prevailed by a head.

Third, some four lengths away, was the early leader Nimbus Courage.

Fitzsimmons has a good one in Lightning Strike who ran out the trip in 1min 01.28sec.

Keep an eye on his progress. This handsome chestnut looks special.