Stephen Gray experienced plenty of highs with Silent Is Gold when training in Singapore, and he is excited to begin a new chapter with the gelding when he makes his New Zealand debut at Trentham on Saturday.
The six-year-old son of Star Turn won seven races in Singapore for Gray, up to Class 1, and was placed in the Singapore 3YO Sprint (1200m), Kranji Sprint (1200m) and Singapore 3YO Classic (1400m), and earned more than S$390,000 in prizemoney.
With the closure of racing in Singapore last year looming, Gray elected to return to New Zealand and was asked to take Silent Is Gold with him by owner Chin Hien Tan, who continues to race the gelding in partnership with Gray and his wife Bridget.
Silent Is Gold won a 1000m trial at Foxton last month and readied for his weekend assignment with an exhibition gallop at Otaki on Monday, and Gray is excited to see what his charge can do on raceday in New Zealand.
“It is quite sentimental,” said Gray, who trains in partnership with his father Kevin. “The owner was a lovely guy and a good owner of ours. He sent him over with us when we left. He wanted to send him to New Zealand and try him and give him a good home afterwards.
“We are really excited for the weekend, it’s cool to get him back from Singapore. He has trialled up well and he looks fantastic. He will probably improve with a run, and a first run at Trentham is never easy.
“He is not a Group One horse, he is a Group Three type of horse, he is pretty sharp and he tries hard. He was pretty nippy over there (Singapore), but you wouldn’t say he was the best sprinter in Singapore, but he was always thereabouts.
“We just want to win a race and have a bit of fun.”
Silent Is Gold will jump from barrier eight and will have the benefit of apprentice jockey Toni Davies’ three-kilogram claim, bringing his allocated weight down to 57kg.
“It is good to have young Toni on, she is a rider that has got a really good future,” Gray said. “We are a bit fortunate down our way, we have got two or three really good apprentice jockeys.”
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