Latest news with #SupremeA
New Paper
13-07-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Ong, See break Group 1 duck
Trainer Jason Ong and jockey Troy See brought up the biggest win in their careers after the in-form Filial Dragon drew clear to claim the RM150,000 (S$45,000) Group 1 Perak Gold Vase (1,100m) at Ipoh on July 13. Ong, who is away in Australia, has finally added a Group 1 win to his glowing achievements since he began training in Singapore six years ago. The 37-year-old Singaporean handler topped Kranji's trainers' log in 2023 and 2024 with 66 wins and 79 wins respectively, before relocating to Selangor after Kranji's closure in October 2024. He has proven his chops with mostly bread-and-butter gallopers, but his runners has not come close in Group races in Malaysia, until Filial Dragon's triumph in the Perak Gold Vase. The son of I Am Invincible has hit a purple patch with three wins in a row at his last three starts, combining with See in two of them: the Class 3 race (1,400m) on June 7 and the Supreme A event (1,200m) on June 29. The Singaporean rider was legged up in his third ride atop the five-year-old gelding, and the jockey-horse combination proved lethal once again. With noted front runner Big Bad Mama (Ganeesh Munusamy) setting a hot pace in front, and Arigatou (Hafis Saari), Last Samurai (Rueven Ravindra), Shanghai Nights (Nik Shahronnizam) and No More Delay (Salee Saad) pressing forward, See was happy to park Filial Dragon just outside of topweight Super Salute (Wong Kam Chong) before the bend. While his nemesis, Super Salute, was tucked behind runners on the rails, See quickly closed in on the first four approaching the turn and began scrubbing up his mount at the 300m. No More Delay inched closer and took over the lead from Big Bad Mama, but Filial Dragon ($10) lengthened nicely on the outside and motored past for a soft win. Group winner Super Salute came a tad too late after storming home from out wide and could only manage second, beating No More Delay into third. See, who was last based in Australia before he kicked off his Malaysian stint on June 1, has won his first Group 1 race at his first meeting in Ipoh. Before that, the 2018 Singapore champion apprentice's first and only Group victory came aboard Maximus in the Group 3 Colonial Chief Stakes (1,600m) at Kranji on Dec 9, 2018. "It's always going to be memorable that he's (Filial Dragon) given me my first Group 1 win. He's been great to me and I'm three-from-three on him now," said See, who has also ridden in India, Macau and Mauritius. "We thought there would be a bit of pace on the inside. Once we jumped out from barrier eight, I saw four to five of them hunting for the lead, but I knew what I had on hand. "They went hard and fast and I was happy to sit outside Super Salute around the bend. Super Salute was the only danger, but he was carrying top weight (59.5kg) and drawn on my inside (barrier 6). "He didn't have the pace, and so I knew if I kept him boxed in, I could have the race covered. "We knew they would come back to us in the straight if we rode him patiently. I have a lot of confidence in my horse's turn of foot and made my move at the 280 to 300m mark. "Once my horse started to pick up, I knew he was home already. "He's a very easy horse to ride. 1,400m is his max for now, and 1,600m maybe in the near future. He's pretty versatile and can settle anywhere in the race as long as there's pace." sharonzhang@
New Paper
08-07-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Keep highly rated trio in Metro A on the radar
It could pay to put your attention on three highly rated gallopers, Circuit Mission, Platinum Emperor and Cheval Blanc, at the Sungai Besi meeting on July 12. They are "ranked" the top three - in order of their ratings - in the handicaps of the main race coming up at the Selangor Turf Club. Three days from now, we could see them fighting out the finish in that Metro A sprint (1,400m). Circuit Mission is now sitting on 99 points. Platinum Emperor is at 98 while Cheval Blanc is - on 93 rating points - not too far behind. But being rated in the 90s is not the only thing they have in common. On the morning of July 8, all three were out on the training track and they have impressed all who were taking in the action. Taking it from the top, we have Circuit Mission running the 600m in a fluent 38.9sec. Platinum Emperor went a tick faster, clocking 38.3sec while Cheval Blanc stopped the clock at 38.7sec. Trained by Frank Maynard, Circuit Mission used to be with Lee Freedman, Cliff Brown and then James Peters at Kranji. Between Singapore and Malaysia, he has won eight races - on the Kranji, Penang and Kuala Lumpur tracks. Even before the son of High Chaparral kick-started his career in Asia, he won twice in the UK when trained by Hugo Palmer. Now, at 10, Circuit Mission showed he can still bring theatre to the game and is not about ready to be put out to pasture. The Irish-bred's last victory might have come almost a year ago in the Group 1 Penang Sprint Trophy (1,400m) on July 28, 2024, and his subsequent three runs were nothing to shout about, but he showed improvement at his last start. Ridden by Akmazani Mazuki in the Supreme A event (1,200m) on June 29, Circuit Mission would not have threatened the top three in any way, but he still made ground in the final 100m to finish fifth. Being the bread-and-butter galloper that he is, he will give his best on July 12. And, on the strength of his most recent training gallop, he could puncture a few egos. As for Platinum Emperor, he comes into the picture after a break of more than 100 days and had an easy spin under jockey Marc Lerner in a barrier trial on June 17. The Ricky Choi-trained galloper was second-up at his last run in the Group 1 Tunku Gold Cup (1,200m) on March 16. That day, under Nuqman Rozi, the Sweynesse five-year-old turned in a decent show, running third behind winner Noah Khan and runner-up, Antipodean. That came a month after Platinum Emperor had smacked his rivals in the Wilayah Silver Bowl Trophy (1,200m) on Feb 2 and won at his first race in Malaysia. Choi has been patient with the eight-time winner from Macau, who is likely to garner interest third-up. Then, from the training track, there was Cheval Blanc. The second of Maynard's pair entered for the sprint on July 12, Cheval Blanc is - like Circuit Mission - a 10-year-old Irish-bred. The son of Red Jazz has faced the starter five times this season. The last occasion was on June 29 and, in a muddling sort of race, Cheval Blanc took fourth. After the run in the Supreme A contest (1,200m), jockey Wong Kam Chong explained to the stewards that he was inconvenienced when his reins were briefly entangled over the neck of Cheval Blanc. There were no such problems during his romp under the morning sun and Maynard would have been pleased with the work put in by his old stager. Outside of that Metro A race, there was good work from Valerie Pegasus. Down to contest the Class 5A event over the short and sharp 1,020m, the five-year-old galloper tossed in a winning workout when running the 600m in 40sec. It was a solid show and very worthy of a line or two in that black book of "horses to follow". Prepared by Nick Selvan, whose last winner was Latin Legend in the Supreme B (1,600m) race on July 6, Valerie Pegasus has been winless in his next five starts after March 1, when he led from barrier to box in the Class 5A race (1,150m) at Sungai Besi. At his last start on June 15, Valerie Pegasus was outpaced in a Class 5A race (1,275m) before finishing seventh to Lightning Gal. The drop in distance could be what he is looking for and, on the back of that honest workout, his Malaysian handler could be looking at a good showing from this son of Shamexpress. brian@
New Paper
24-06-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
V'Invincible set to flex muscles over longer
V'Invincible's last-start second was full of merit. One could say he was a "good horse beaten". On June 15, V'Invincible ran second to a good three-year-old in Trees Of Valinor. The son of I Am Invincible lost by three parts of a length with Troy See doing his best to urge him along. It came in the wake of V'Invincible having to take third placings at his two previous outings. Trainer Richard Lim and owners from the Vgor Stable could have been beating their chests in anguish. But they would not be crying over spilt milk. Instead, they would be looking forward to June 29. V'Invincible will be lining up in a Class 4A event, and he has a few factors in his favour. He gets in with a handy weight of 54.5kg, the second lowest in the field of 13: just ½ kg more than Legacy Fortune. The former Singapore galloper will also relish the 1,500m trip. To top it all, he will trot to the start with a good gallop under his belt. On the morning of June 24, V'Invincible was one of the stars on the training track, clocking 37.9sec for the 600m trip. Lim, who opened proceedings with Wan Legacy taking out the first race at Sungai Besi on June 22, would have been pleased with V'Invincible. The strapping six-year-old has two victories to his name. He opened his account in a Class 4 race (1,200m) on the Polytrack at Kranji on Jan 20, 2024, before pulling off his second win in Kuala Lumpur on April 20. That day, under John Sundradas, V'Invincible came from fifth spot at the 400m to beat the Simon Dunderdale-trained Commander by three parts of a length in a Class 4B contest. That was run over the 1,300m. He will be even better over the 1,500m. Elsewhere on that day, keep an eye on Renzo and Witnessimpact. They came away from their morning workouts looking like they were more than ready to lock horns in the Supreme A race (1,200m) on June 29. Both runners did not go against the clock, opting instead for some serious cantering on a track which was rated "good". Set to turn seven on Aug 1, Renzo was transferred to Sharee Hamilton after his last race at Kranji in June 2024. And with six races won in Singapore when under Ricardo Le Grange, and one win on his Malaysian debut in Penang on March 8, the honest galloper has won seven races to date. At his last start on May 31 - which was also the farewell meeting held at the Penang Turf Club - the Orpen gelding plodded home a well-beaten fifth in the RS A race (1,300m) won by Lucky Magic. He is capable of better and it will not surprise to see him romp home a winner on June 29. As for Witnessimpact, he, too, opted for a spot of cantering, and it would have topped him up sufficiently for the assignment coming up. A son of Star Witness, the five-year-old has won five races under the care of Dunderdale. Owned by Foong Ah Weng, Witnessimpact last ran in the Class 2 Korea Racing Authority Trophy race (1,020m) at the Selangor Turf Club on June 15. For a moment, at the 400m mark, he looked good. However, he was swamped over the concluding stages and had to settle for fifth behind eventual winner, Filial Dragon. Witnessimpact came into that race after a 70-day break and would have needed that run. Watch him. Come June 29, he could reinvent himself as a winner. Elsewhere on the 12-race meeting, the 3-Year-Old Mile Championship is shaping up to be a hotly-contested event with a total prize money of RM200,000 (S$60,200) up for grabs. The 1,600m event has attracted 12 entries and, on the morning of June 24, four of the runners strutted their stuff with fast gallops over the 600m. Trainer Frank Maynard's Duma and Trees Of Valinor ran out the trip in 38.8sec while Tiang Kim Choi's Defeater clocked 41.8sec for the same journey. Then, there was Cheval Pegasus. The two-time winner from Jason Ong's yard clocked 39sec. It would seem the race for the up-and-coming three-year-old milers can be a mouth-watering clash, with the winner being promised bragging rights. brian@
