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Born To Fly has stamped himself as one of the solid stalwarts for the Stephen Gray stable and will attempt to notch up a feature success in Sunday's Group 2 Chairman's Trophy.
With a healthy record of seven wins and 17 placings from 49 starts and more than half-a-million dollars in prizemoney, Born To Fly has been a prolific moneyspinner to the Kiwi conditioner, but probably falls short of nobility because of a trophyless cabinet.
He did have a few cracks at Group level and was seldom disgraced, with his second to Super Ninetyseven in last year’s Group 3 Committee’s Prize (1600m) as his best result. He then ran fourth to the same horse in the Group 1 Raffles Cup (1800m) but was found out by the 2200m trip of the Longines Singapore Gold Cup.
Born To Fly was then spelled before coming back in slightly easier company. He went on to score the last of his seven wins in a Kranji Stakes A race over 1400m in April, which has since boosted his ratings to his current highest level of 93 points.
The Mossman six-year-old is chasing a first feature success this Sunday in the $300,000 Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy (1800m). A win would not bestow upon him any regal title by any stretch of the imagination, but it would at least be the crowning moment of a career which has otherwise been rather exemplary.
Gray would love nothing less for a horse he wholly owns too, but his feet remain firmly on the ground – which he hopes will take a bit of soaking on Sunday.
“He’s been a good honest horse to us, always tries hard and deserves a big race win,” said Gray.
“It’s a little hard at the handicap, but my horse is rock-hard fit and he’s a happy horse at the moment.
“He’s drawn on the fence (barrier No 1) and if it rains and the track isn’t firm, he can run a place.”
The Chairman’s Trophy, a race that has thus far eluded Gray, is a weight-for-age event which will bring Born To Fly on level terms with top guns such as Stepitup, Wild Geese, Cash Luck or Johnny Guitar.
Gray takes the blinkers off on Sunday, a decision which, he said in hindsight, should have come one race earlier.
“I should have taken the blinkers off at his last start. It was a mile race and he overraced on that day,” said Gray in reference to a Kranji Stakes A race in which Born To Fly finished a smack-up third to Gold Rutile, one of his opponents on Sunday.
“He still ran well and was not far behind. Anyway, they are off on Sunday and he should settle better. We’ll see.”
The other new element to the equation is the pilot, Nooresh Juglall, whom Gray has used sparingly in the six weeks he has spent at Kranji, but thought the in-form jockey was a timely and perfect fit for Born To Fly in the Chairman’s Trophy.
“Initially, I thought of giving the ride to an experienced jockey and thought of Corey Brown, but he was riding Goodman,” said Gray.
“(Apprentice jockey) Rueven (Ravindra), who has done very well for us with four winners was another option, but in the end I went with someone who has had a bit more practice in those big races, and Nooresh is riding in great form at the moment.”
Juglall, a two-time champion apprentice jockey and Triple Tiara winner in South Africa, has recorded six wins in only 47 rides at Kranji, including a riding double for trainer Michael Clements (Twodollarmuppet and Spinning Success) last Sunday.