Latest news with #StormTitan


New Paper
05-06-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
The Wild Goal all set to score
Former Kranji trainers Jason Ong and Richard Lim may well have another two potential winners going on the barrier trials at Sungai Besi on June 4. The current runaway leader in the trainers' premiership with 43 winners, Ong sent out The Wild Goal to take the opener while Storm Titan took the third for Lim, who sits sixth on 15 after saddling a treble on June 1. Both impressed with their performances. The Wild Goal (Akmazani Mazuki), who beat Hypeman (Marc Lerner) by a length, would be remembered for breaking the minute mark for the 1,000m dash on grass. He stopped the clock at an impressive 59.82 seconds. Not to be outdone, Storm Titan (Uzair Sharudin), though unable to come under the minute mark, did catch the eye with a five-length romp. Here is how the scenes unfolded. In Trial No. 1, when the starter sent them off, the The Wild Goal scooted away and quickly put a length between himself and the chasing pack, led by the Simon Dunderdale-trained Hypeman, with the Sharee Hamilton-trained Sweet N Sour holding down third. Keeping up a strong gallop, The Wild Goal refused to be intimidated by Hypeman and when push came to shove, he dug in to win by a length. Formerly known as Lucky Goal when racing at Kranji where he won two races, The Wild Goal made himself known to Malaysian racing fans when winning a Class 4 (B) race over the 1,020m on March 23. It was an Ong Stable queue-up with Outfit dropping in for second, some 4½ lengths away. While the margin was impressive, The Wild Goal has yet to put together another victory. Indeed, the best the Shalaa four-year-old could do in four subsequent starts was a second-place finish behind Baby Twins on April 24. But with Ong's stable churning out winners like water from a tap, we could see The Wild One salute sooner rather than later. As for Storm Titan, that win was his third victory from as many barrier trials going back to May 14 when he won in a time of 1min 1.64sec. He was at it again on May 27, beating Captain Pegasus by half a length while clocking 1:00.82. And in that latest hit-out, the unraced Ace High three-year-old led from barrier to box, never allowing his rivals to get a look-in, stopping the clock at 1:00.68. Yes, Storm Titan is getting better with every outing and, when Lim does send him to the races, he is going to be a treat to watch. Then, and also from the morning of June 4, we had Big Business. Schooled by Lim Boon Thong, Big Business was another big winner - coasting in by a massive six lengths in Trial No. 2. Big Business - who was racing with blinkers - was never troubled. He cleared the chute easily and quickly got into stride. The others tried to eat into his lead but he never allowed them to get within swishing distance of his tail. He was unstoppable over the concluding stages and ran away from them to win in a time of 1:00.83 - easing up. Big Business was down to make his grand debut on June 7, but for some medical reason, he will not start in the Open Maiden sprint for which he was nominated. The Shalaa three-year-old was withdrawn on the advice of the club's veterinarians. Watch for the day Lim decides he ticks all the boxes to be sent to the races. He seems to be working towards a decent debut. In the last trial, which was run on sand, Kim Legend was all-conquering. Ridden by track rider Lukman Mohamed, the Nostradamus four-year-old came with a huge run over the last 200m to claim victory. Until then, it appeared like Royal Commission (Nazir Aiman) had it signed, sealed and delivered. But Kim Legend was not to be intimidated. Having just his second trial at Sungai Besi, he swamped the leader to win going away. Trained by Wayne Lim Woei Chet, Kim Legend has had two unplaced outings - one at Ipoh and one at Sungai Besi. Both starts were held in Class 4A company, first over 1,300m before being stepped up to 1,400m. Granted, he did not set the track ablaze, but on his brilliant trial form on June 4, he could be the real deal at his third start. brian@


New Paper
28-05-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Storm Titan blows them away in trials
With 12 wins for the season, Richard Lim's takings so far have been modest. But, he does have some good ones in the yard. One of them has yet to face the starter, Storm Titan. Right now, he is shaping up as a three-year-old with absolute potential. The faithful who usually take in the gallops and the morning trials at Sungai Besi will know him. After all, he has been to the trials twice and, like that first one on May 14, this latest one on May 27 was a treat to watch. Here is how it all unfolded. As the runners took their spots in the gates, Storm Titan was, like a bantam rooster - all strut and style. Fitted with pacifiers and jumping from the innermost chute, he was quickly into his stride. Prominent in his red headgear, he led the way with Born To Win (Khairil Zulkiflee) and Wan Legacy in close attendance. Taking the shortest route home, he led them by three lengths at the top of the stretch and looked to have done enough until Captain Pegasus (Fikri Ismail) threw out a challenge at the furlong mark. The four-time winner got close but Storm Titan had enough in the tank to wrap it up by half-a-length. Bingo Master slotted in third. Storm Titan clocked a decent time of 1min 0.82sec. It was a repeat of that first trial on May 14 when Storm Titan jumped cleanly and took the lead after just 300m. The three-year-old stayed there, not allowing any of his rivals to get close to him. He eventually coasted in a two-length winner and he did the trip in 1min 1.64sec. That day, like on the morning of May 27, Lim elected to allow apprentice Uzair Sharudin do the piloting and, by the looks of things, the youngster will be doing everything in his power to retain that seat when Storm Titan does make his raceday debut. Yes, Lim has got a really good one in the barn. A New Zealand-bred by Ace High, Storm Titan has the makings of an honest brawler. Sure, he is competitive. Then again, so are most - if not all - thoroughbreds in this business. But, the thing about Storm Titan is the fact that he does not like to lose. We saw it in this latest trial when Captain Pegasus tossed in a challenge. Storm Titan took the bit between his teeth and, in that last throw of the dice, he had more desire than Captain Pegasus and the rest of the beaten brigade. That said, Captain Pegasus was hardly disgraced. To have run second at Sungai Besi was, in itself an achievement as all of Captain Pegasus' four career wins were on the track at the Perak Turf Club and when the Shamexpress seven-year-old was under the care of trainer Kevin Coetzee. Now with Siva Kumar, he has yet to appear for him at the races. And yes, it has been a long time between drinks for the connections as Captain Pegasus' last win was on April 7, 2024. However, and on the strength of his run at the trials, he deserves some thought when Siva does send him into the mix. Earlier in the opening trial of the morning, the Winson Cheng Han Yong-trained Thousand Mile Eye seemed content to stay third for most of the early part of the 1,000m trip as Pacific Empire (Clyde Leck) and Shinjuku (Laercio de Souza) traded blows up front. Just when it looked like he was going to settle for a "minor placing", his rider Haikal Hanif asked him for an effort and Thousand Mile Eye responded. Stepping on the gas at the furlong mark, he caught the leaders by surprise and his turn of foot swept him to the front. To his credit, Shinjuku refused to give up the fight and he rallied. But the momentum was with Thousand Mile Eye and he went on to take the trial by a short head, clocking 1min 0.41sec for the sharp sprint. A two-time winner from 17 starts, his last win was on July 21. But his last three runs have been commendable and he could be worth a punt at his next start. brian@