Ong, See break Group 1 duck

New Paper

13-07-2025

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."
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