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Marc Lerner said Fame Star deserved a lot of credit for the way he won his barrier trial on Tuesday morning.
The Group 2-winning American-bred five-year-old has made it two-from-two at the barrier trials, and on both occasions without blinkers, a gear he usually wears in his races.
The French jockey, who rode Fame Star at his last-start win in the Group 2 EW Barker Trophy (1400m) in November, said it was a sound effort to still come out tops with no shades on.
The son of Twirling Candy stamped himself as one of the breakout performers in 2019, winning a five-in-a-row, with eventual Singapore champion apprentice jockey Simon Kok Wei Hoong on board at the first four. A suspension for careless riding, however, ruled Kok out for the EW Barker Trophy, and the rest is history for Lerner.
"With blinkers, he is a lot sharper, but he still did a good job to win the trial without them this morning," said Lerner who was replaced by John Powell at Fame Star 's first winning barrier trial on January 14, because of sickness.
"He's okay, but I think you'll see him at his best with the blinkers on. (John O'Hara's assistant-trainer) Steve (Crutchley) told me to dig him up a bit more towards the end as he needed it ahead of his comeback race next week.
"I'm looking forward to riding him again in the Class 1 race over 1200m (on February 15). After that race, they will then programme his races towards the Lion City Cup."
The Group 1 Lion City Cup (1200m) is staged alongside the International Group 3 Kranji Mile (1600m) on May 23.
Crutchley said that there was no clear path plotted towards Singapore's premier sprint feature for the Toast Trusts & Kadima Stable-owned sprinter.
"There aren't a lot of races that he can run in before the Lion City Cup," said the Kiwi horseman.
"I was happy with today's barrier trial and we'll have a better idea where he is at when he returns in the Class 1 race over 1200m next week."
In Tuesday's trial, Fame Star led from the start. The closers came within a length of him, but when Lerner squeezed him a little, he sprinted clear to score by 1 ¾ lengths from Dester Singapore Gold Cup winner Mr Clint (Patrick Moloney).