Coetzee's team ready to rumble

New Paper

06-05-2025

It was at that last Perak meeting on April 26 that trainer Kevin Coetzee pulled off a winning double.
The South African conditioner bookended the show by taking the opener with Bullseye in the Class 5B event (1,600m), before winning the Cosmo C race (1,400m) with Man Of Action in the 10th and last race.
He had sent in a team of 20 then. Now, Coetzee has entered another big team of 24 runners for the 10-race meeting in Ipoh on May 11.
The 67-year-old handler was a busy man on the morning of May 6 as his team of horses were put through their paces on the training track in Ipoh.
Some of them did turn in some good gallops.
Bullseye was one of the impressive ones. The Per Incanto eight-year-old would have earned nods of approval when running the 600m in a flashy 39.8sec.
The New Zealand galloper could be looking at a race-to-race double.
Bullseye recorded his last-start victory in spectacular fashion when he came from a spot in midfield to power home like a speedboat among a bunch of canoeists.
He eventually beat Master Jiangmen by ½ length - going away - under Haris Pauzi.
Coetzee has entered him in a similar race - another Class 5B over the 1,600m - and he looks primed and ready for the assignment.
Also from Coetzee's yard and looking serious on the training track were We Can Do It, Colonel Chief and Magic Player.
We Can Do It, who is also owned by Coetzee, ran the 600m in 39.3sec.
Still a three-year-old, the son of Heroic Valour looked promising at the trials, but he has yet to post a win in two starts.
At his last start in an Open Maiden race (1,300m) on March 15, the Australian gelding beat just one home in a field of seven after being slow to clear the chute.
We Can Do It is finding his feet. If he can bring that promising trial form to the Class 5A event (1,600m) on May 11, he might be worth a punt at good odds.
Entered in the same race is Colonel Chief, who clocked 37.7sec in his morning gallop. He knows what it takes to win a race, having done it seven times.
Like most 10-year-old veterans, the Sebi Halo gelding has been around the block.
Formerly known as Elite Remarkable when trained by champion trainer Mark Walker at Kranji, the Argentinian-bred was unplaced in 12 starts before moving to Kuala Lumpur towards the end of 2020.
Across the Causeway, Colonel Chief has been prepared by trainers Johnny Lim Boon Thong and Sivan Veerapen, for whom he won four races.
He then won one for trainer Frank Maynard before transferring to Coetzee's stable, where he has recorded two wins so far.
His last victory came in the Class 5A race (1,600m) in Ipoh on Feb 8. Ridden by Wong Kam Chong, Colonel Chief scored a fighting win, holding off strong challenges from Master Jiangmen and Success Street to win by 1¼ lengths.
At his subsequent five runs - all over the mile - he failed to produce another win, but he did add to the pot by finishing third on three occasions.
Although he is getting long in the tooth, he still champs at the bit and fights to the finish.
As for Magic Player, he did his 600m hit-out in 40.2sec and Coetzee could be quietly confident of a good showing from him in the Class 5B race over the 1,400m on May 11.
A seven-year-old son of Dissident, Magic Player has a modest record of two wins, three seconds and 10 thirds from 41 starts.
But his last-start second to the much-improved Talkingtalkingguru in the Class 5B race (1,300m) on April 26 was full of merit.
He ran a gallant race under 3kg claimer Shiva Ngyanasegaran.
His latest training gallop on May 6 does seem to suggest he is holding that condition.
With just a light weight of 52.5kg to carry on May 11, he could be worth plenty of thought - especially when you are mapping your strategy for those interesting novelty bets.
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