Gold Medal Rose within a whiff of maiden victory

New Paper

04-06-2025

With Malaysians celebrating the King's birthday on June 1 and, with the revelry flowing into June 2, there was no "official" trackwork at the Sungai Besi racetrack on the usual Tuesday.
Of course, the horses who are down to contest the races on June 7 would not have had much of a break and many would have been given fast work.
That being the case, it was - understandably and expectedly - rather quiet on the morning of June 4, when the order of the day would have been to keep it simple.
So it was, fast gallops were few and far between but, for those at trackside, there was enough speed to whet the appetite.
Impressive among them was Gold Medal Rose.
The Wrote filly from the stables of Ooi Chin Chin was in a galloping mood and she covered the 600m in a smart time of 38.2sec.
Still looking for that elusive first win, Gold Medal Rose will be having her seventh race start in the Open Maiden event over the 1,200m.
On the strength of her most recent gallop, she should give her rivals something to think about.
The New Zealand-bred is still a three-year-old and her most impressive showing was when she finished a head second to Defeater on debut in a 1,200m sprint way back on Sept 8, 2024.
Ooi has since put her through the grinder. He sent her to the races five times where she added money to the kitty by finishing third on two occasions.
In addition, she has been to the trials twice this season.
Yes, she looks sufficiently topped up for this assignment coming up and it could pay to include her in that list of "horses to follow".
Also turning on the style - but not in a sprinting sort of way - was Zero Five Five.
The handsome-looking chestnut loosened up with some solid cantering and will come into the action in a Class 4B (1,150m) on June 7, looking primed and poised for a good showing.
Prepared by Richard Lines, who pulled off a win with Seson on June 1, Zero Five Five came close to a first Malaysian win in Ipoh on May 11. But he had to be content with second, finding one better in Prince Lonhro.
However, make no mistake about it, Zero Five Five knows a thing or two about racing and has a win to show.
When based at Flemington before being flown out here, Zero Five Five - then racing as Wirrapanda - won a 1,130m race in Geelong on March 26, 2024.
No doubt the Wandjina four-year-old's last-start ninth in a Class 4B (1,400m) back on his home track was a let-down, but on his smart workout, he can bounce back.
It could also pay to keep an eye on Navy Seals, who is set to contest the Class 4 (B) race over the 1,700m.
Trainer Frank Maynard sent the US Navy Flag four-year-old out for some fast work on June 4 and he came through that 600m sprint in 39.2sec.
Already a four-time winner - three of which came when he was under the care of Tan Kah Soon at Kranji - Navy Seals won once for Maynard.
That was on April 5 when he showed racing fans at Sungai Besi just how good a stayer he was.
That day, when partnered by Nuqman Rozi, he came from near last at the 400m mark to power home for a narrow win over the 2,000m.
He goes over 1,700m on June 7 and, while it might seem a tad short, he is in that kind of form which makes all things possible.
Maynard can also count on Star Victory, who ran over the 600m in 40sec.
The Vancouver six-year-old is still winless in Malaysia, but do not hold it against him.
While housed at Kranji under the helm of English trainer James Peters, he posted six wins - over trips ranging between 1,100m and 1,400m.
His last win was on Sept 28 when he came with a pounding run over the concluding stages of that 1,200m race to score by half-a-length. That day, he had five-time Singapore champion jockey Manoel Nunes doing the steering.
The 1,500m he has to cover on June 7 should be right up his alley and, with the benefit of that solid piece of work, he could be anything he wants to be.
[e-mail]