Bittersweet day for Ismadi after Vincent's Star's easy win
The five-year-old son of Epaulette, together with stablemate Quicken Away - who finished third in the same race - will both be transferred to trainer Wayne Lim's yard to continue their racing careers in Kuala Lumpur.
The Ipoh-based Ismadi had already spoken to Vincent's Star and Quicken Away's owners, S-Equine Racing Stable and Jimmy Bin Nonong, about a month ago.
"They will go to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. Of course I feel a bit sad, but they are both good horses and I've already spoken to their owners about their future," he said. "I said it's better for them to race in KL where they can compete in better races than here, where races can sometimes get cancelled."
Ismadi fielded a three-pronged attack in the highlight race, which also included Rocket Boy, and he was relieved to see Vincent's Star bounce back from his disappointing run last time.
The Australian-bred was coming off the back of four consecutive wins - all over the 1,200m - when he stepped out in the Perak Turf Club Community Shield (1,200m) on May 11.
Then ridden by regular partner Rueven Ravindra - who won on him on that four occasions - Vincent's Star could not muster an acceleration like he usually did in the straight and faded away to run sixth, almost 10 lengths behind the winner Faithful Leader.
This time, however, Vincent's Star (Azizi Azhari) stalked noted speedster Big Bad Mama (Ganeesh Munusamy) in second, and his two-kilo claimer waited patiently till the 200m to make his move.
Vincent's Star ($15) struck the front quickly, before going away to win effortlessly on the yielding ground. A line of four behind him fought for the minor placings, with Shirvo (Lim Aun Kean)grabbing second, just ½ length ahead of Quicken Away (Hafis Saari). Ismadi's third runner, Rocket Boy (How Yang) finished another short head away in fourth, beating Big Bad Mama into fifth.
Ismadi said the three-month break did Vincent's Star a world of good.
"He is very sensitive. After the run last time, his weight dropped and I suspected he had ulcer, so I let him rest," he said.
"I probably rushed him a bit after his four straight wins, but he's back to his ideal weight of 528kg now.
"I wanted to take two kilos off him, so I put Azizi on and he rode him beautifully."
Malaysian jockey Lim took the riding honours of the day in Ipoh with a rare four-timer, booting home Northern Alliance ($84), Chosen One ($29), Mega Ocean ($31) and Autumn Blitz ($29), and brought up his season tally to 11 wins.
sharonzhang@sph.com.sg
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