Jupiter Gold bouncing back to the winner’s circle when dropped back in trip and switched back to Polytrack was widely regarded as another stroke of genius from trainer Hideyuki Takaoka.

Two weeks later, Jupiter Gold comes out for his next assignment. Conventional wisdom would have him set for a similar race just so not to change a winning formula.

But no, he is back on turf and again rises in distance to the mile - and in a feature race no less: The $1 million Giovanni Racing Group 1 Charity Bowl (1600m), the second Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge previously known as the Patron’s Bowl.
 

Olivier Placais drives Jupiter Gold to the line at their first pairing on June 10, picture Singapore Turf Club

Just on that day when the son of Congrats scored with authority in that Kranji Stakes A race over 1200m on Polytrack, three races later, Elite Invincible landed the first Leg, the Stewards’ Cup (1400m), a race that was then nowhere near being on Takaoka’s or owner Kaz Hosaka’s radar.

The agenda was to mix things up by reverting to sprints on Polytrack, a course and distance he was no slouch over early doors (first three wins were on the all-weather between 1000m and 1200m) – all in a bid to resurrect his winning flair.

The gamble paid off – but here he is a fortnight on, taking on the likes of Elite Invincible, Countofmontecristo and Lim’s Magic in the Charity Bowl this Sunday.

Takaoka concedes going back to square one may sound “illogical”, but he said it was by no means a rash decision.

“When Jupiter Gold kept running badly on grass, a lot of them in Group races, the owner really wanted a switch back to Polytrack sprints for him,” said the Japanese handler.

“He never told me about the Charity Bowl. After he won, we wanted to stick to such  races for a while, but when we looked at the programme, there weren’t many Polytrack races that suited him.

“That’s when we thought of the Charity Bowl. It’s on grass, yes, but it’s over a distance he’s won twice before and it was over grass, too.

“He’s four and they turn four only once. Anyway, the idea of taking him back to Polytrack was more to change things up in order to get his confidence back.

“Hopefully, he has that winning mood back. It doesn’t really matter on which surface he races on. We’ll see how he goes.”

When probed if the former rig will then press on towards the third and final Leg, the Group 1 Emirates Singapore Derby (1800m) on July 15, Takaoka prefers to be non-committal.

“It all depends on the result this Sunday. The records still show he didn’t go so well on grass,” said Takaoka who won the prestigious $1.15 million race twice with Jolie’s Shinju (2009) and Better Life (2013).

“How he runs in the Charity Bowl will give me a better idea.”

Takaoka said Jupiter Gold has stayed at the same fitness level since his last win – his seventh all-up – and that he couldn’t fault his lead-up preparation towards his next Group mission – his 11th at his 20th start. Jupiter Gold has yet to add a “black type” win to his name.

“He has maintained his condition after that win. I was happy with his gallop this morning,” he said.

“(Jockey) Olivier (Placais) rode him and was also very happy with his work. The horse drew well in five and let’s hope for the best.”

The French rider said anything less than third for Jupiter Gold, whom he partnered for the first time at that last winning start, would be a let-down in his books.

“Jupiter Gold is at his best. His last race over shorter was a good freshen-up for him, it woke him up,” said Placais who seems to have forged a lethal combination with Takaoka this season with roughly a third of his 25 winners coming from the Japanese handler.

“He galloped well this morning, he has drawn a good gate in the middle. It’s not an overly strong field and I’d be disappointed if he is not in the tierce.

“Last time, I had to keep him alert throughout the trip as it was a shorter trip and I didn’t want him to switch off at the back.

“It’s back to the mile this time, and I won’t be so positive, but I expect him to be in fifth or sixth position, just off the speed.

“He’s won twice on mile and on grass before and there’s no reason why he can’t run well on Sunday.”