Wear the Lucky Charm in Race 2

On Sept 10, Coin Toss delivered from a quick 13-day back-up for trainer Michael Clements and the relatively new Gandharvi Stable.

It sure was a commendable achievement to get the three-year-old to improve so much from such a short time, after his debut third in Restricted Maiden over 1,200m on turf on Aug 28.

On Saturday, Clements’ aptly named Lucky Charm will likely repeat that little feat in Race 2, the $20,000 Open Maiden event over the Polytrack 1,000m.

Like Coin Toss, Clements has got Lucky Charm jumping out of his skin, based on his track gallops.

His Australian-bred’s three hit-outs after his debut were outstanding, the latest on Monday. They packed with plenty of oomph.

A year older than Coin Toss and owned by another new outfit, Greenwood Stable, Lucky Charm also made his debut on Aug 28.

It was in Open Maiden over the Poly 1,100m.

Ridden by Vlad Duric, the speedy trial winner led as expected. 

He looked to have the race sewn up when the more experienced Rocky produced a spurt to beat him by 11/2 lengths.

The Donna Logan-trained Rocky had come into the race with three starts, which included two smart placings.

For Saturday’s task, Clements has added the blinkers for Lucky Charm. This will likely perk his charge up further.

The impeccable bay gelding is meeting only a weak field.

He has the best form, followed by trainer David Kok’s Kinabalu Prince, who finished third behind Clements’ Pacific Star over 1,200m on turf in his last start on Aug 7.

While Briggs is a newcomer, who ran an ordinary second in his trial on Aug 30, the rest of the field have yet to show something. 

Lucky Charm just has to reproduce his trackform to join Coin Toss in scoring at start No. 2.

About his breeding, his sire Maurice is Japan’s 2015 Horse of the Year. He had 18 starts for 11 wins from 1,400m to 2,000m.

Two of his six Group 1 successes were in Hong Kong – the Longines Hong Kong Mile (1,600m) in December 2015 and the Longines Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) in December 2016.

Lucky Charm is his only progeny in Singapore. He cost A$130,000 (S$123,000) as a yearling.

It looks like Clements and his new connections will have plenty of fun with the horse.

Besides Lucky Charm and Coin Toss, Clements’ other new horse, Petrograd, has also been working up a storm for his next race.

Like his stablemates, the three-year-old by Russian Revolution also made his debut on Aug 28.

The Gandharvi-owned trial winner led with Duric astride but found no answer to stablemate Ejaz’s blistering finish.

He lost by a length, but was 21/4 lengths ahead of Coin Toss. It was a Clements trifecta.

Coin Toss’ second-up victory stands Petrograd in good stead. Jot him down in your notebook.

Duric, who will ride Lucky Charm, has a top chance of a double with the Ricardo Le Grange-trained Renzo in Race 7, the $50,000 Class 4 Division 1 event over the Polytrack 1,200m.

A consistent galloper with three wins and eight placings from 15 Kranji starts, the four-year-old Argentinian-bred went like a winner in his 600m gallop on Tuesday.

Renzo was ridden by apprentice jockey Fahmi Rosman in his last two outings. On both occasions, he finished third. In his latest on Sept 3, he was bumped after the start and had to race wide. 

The booking of Duric is a big plus. The four-time champion can make all the difference.