In this sport, things do happen that make you blink and wonder if your eyes were playing tricks.

Like in the case of Smart Gambit, who won his trial on March 26.

Nothing wrong there.

He has, to put it mildly, been there and done that.

He has also won races. Not once, but twice in the last three months.

So, you ask. What was so different when he took that latest trial?

Well, it was the method and the manner in which he went about the task.

From what we have seen of Smart Gambit from the time he arrived at Kranji on Nov 10, 2022, only once did he show early speed.

That was on June 8, 2023, when, in a similar sort of trial and racing as Leg Day, he broke clear at the “off” and made every post a winning one.

He was then under the care of Michael Clements, who quit Singapore racing in late September, 2023.

However, that was the first and last time we saw him lead his rivals on a merry romp.

Racing as Smart Gambit and under the charge of Richard Lim, he showed us his winning ways when beating a Class 5 field over the flying 1,000m on Dec 17.