Gray dreams of second Gold Cup

That win in July's Singapore Derby was brilliant. Coming 14 years after Lim's Prestige gave trainer Stephen Gray his first Derby, it was like a fairy tale played out in real life.

But right now, Gray is dreaming bigger dreams. It swirls around the Singapore Gold Cup in November.

And, he reckons, with Hard Too Think, he has the right horse to get the job done.

Hard Too Think was beaten fair and square by the Michael Clements-trained Tuesday in a trial on - well - Tuesday.

But, according to his trainer, Hard Too Think did put up a decent show over the short and sharp 1,000m on the Polytrack.

He added that it was the perfect launch pad to the race which really matters, the coveted Gold Cup.

But Gray has no illusions. He knows that it is not going to be a walk in the park.

For now, high on his agenda are the races which Hard Too Think will attempt in his build-up to Nov 14.

"I'm glad I didn't run him in the Raffles Cup," he said. "It was a weight-for-age race and it was over the mile which was too short.

"He's better off in these handicap races carrying a light weight. That's why I've picked that Kranji Stakes A race over 1,400m next week. It's still too short, but it'll be like a trial for him towards the QEII Cup."

The Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup is also run at weight-for-age conditions, but the rise to a more suitable 1,800m trip made it harder to bypass.

"Still, everything will depend on how he fares in the next two starts and how much weight he gets," said Gray.

"The horse is still well after the freshen-up. He's been ticking over nicely and he trialled quite nice.

"Marc (Lerner) won't be able to ride him next week, as he'll get a low weight. Danny Beasley will ride him, but Marc will ride him in the QEII Cup.

"But the main target is the Gold Cup. It's still worth one million dollars, after all."

Gray would have a fair idea how to win one, as he already has on board one Singapore Gold Cup on the mantelpiece. That was when the race was over 2,200m in 2016 - and Bahana did the job.

Today, it's a different ball game. "We had plenty of options in those days," he recalled.

"But there aren't any of those options now, except for the QEII Cup, which like I said, is a weight-for-age race. We can't change the cards we are dealt."

But still, he can dream. Can't he?