Mr Malek is probably one of those horses you can throw the “form is temporary but class is permanent” line on without many dissident voices, but trainer Steven Burridge still didn’t sound too hopeful that class will suddenly wake up this Sunday.

"He was disappointing at his last start (Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup), even if it's true he got a hard track," said the veteran Australian handler, who is well known for calling a spade a spade.

"It's debatable if he can get the trip, but it's a million dollar race. We've got to have a throw at the wickets.

"You can't get any money if you sit in your box. He's fit, we can't spell him, he might as well run, he could even hurt himself being so fresh.

"If he was ever to run a 2000m race, that is his one chance, but to be honest, he's not expected to win, though. We are grasping at straws, really."

Not exactly the kind of spiel to boost confidence levels a couple of days ahead of the $1 million Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) this Sunday, but Burridge certainly can't be blamed for sugar-coating the facts.

After Mr Malek 's Group 2 Stewards' Cup (1600m) triumph (his eighth win overall) in July at only his third start for Burridge, the sky was the limit for the only horse former multiple Singapore champion owner Oscar Racing Stable has kept after a major string-trimming exercise.

Unfortunately, Lee Freedman's former rising star has not quite soared to greater heights in four more starts, three of them at Group 1 level.

The dodgy feet couldn't be pointed at. They are now fine.

The longer trips (1800m) of the Singapore Derby and Queen Elizabeth II Cup? Like Burridge suggests, it's a grey area even if it's also at odds with Mr Malek's genes on the sire side (Swiss Ace).

The naked truth is the other horses like Hard Too Think or Lim's Lightning were probably just better, at least this season.

Regardless, Burridge is pushing the envelope even further by pressing on towards uncharted Gold territory.

Some might have feared to tread where Burridge is rushing in, given the Derby and QEII Cup failures, but the jockey-turned-trainer is obviously not risk-averse.

After all, he won one Singapore Gold Cup with a horse named Risky Business in 2010 when the then energy-sapping race was run over 2200m, albeit a few more boxes were ticked then.

"You can't compare. We knew Risky could stay and he also got a soft track that day," said Burridge who also went on to claim his one and only Singapore champion trainer title in that annus mirabilis.

"Mr Malek would like a damp track, too. He's been getting a lot of hard tracks lately.

"No doubt the trip is a question mark, but if you look at his Derby run, he ran fourth and was beaten only around two lengths. He was not gaining ground, but neither was he losing ground.

"At his last run, he was one out one back, but things didn't work out. He lost his position when he couldn't get a run, he even stopped racing.

"He's not badly weighted (54kgs) this Sunday, and we're putting blinkers on just to wake him up as he's been getting in behind runners and switching off a little.

"He had the blinkers on at his last barrier trial (November 2). I told Jimmy (race-rider Wong Chin Chuen) to ride him quiet and let him work home in the clear.

"He hit the line very well with the blinkers on (1 ½-length third to fellow Gold Cup contender Katak), without flashing home.

"It'll be a big ask, but you never know. We've got a ticket, so we're in."