Latest news with #ElitePrince
New Paper
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Paper
Elite Prince holds court again
Relative newcomer Elite Prince overcame his outside barrier in the RM200,000 (S$61,000) 3-Year-Old Sprint Championship (1,200m) to score back-to-back wins at Sungai Besi on June 1. Trained by Singaporean Richard Lim, the son of Bon Hoffa faced 12 other runners in the highlight race in Kuala Lumpur, including several last-start winners like Duma, Yes Man, Defeater, Release The Spirit and Rocky Bhai. Elite Prince was no pushover among his peers, though. After an unplaced run on debut on April 20, the Australian-bred opened his account with a handy win in a Restricted Maiden race (1,200m) at his second and last start on May 18, when he beat Singha Bay by 1¾lengths. Although he won from gate 11 then, Lim was still worried the wide barrier 9 this time could work against his positive tactics, but the promising Elite Prince dispelled his concerns shortly after the start. The three-year-old chestnut galloper showed plenty of speed under Shafiq Rizuan to cut across and lead on the rails from Sakura (Mohd Zaki) and Yes Man (Oscar Chavez) in the back straight. Turning for home, Elite Prince ($30) quickly put a two-length margin between him and Yes Man. Duma (Andre da Silva), who had been buried in fifth on the rails, switched to the outside at the 400m to launch his challenge. But Elite Prince was in no mood to relinquish his advantage and held on all the way to the line. Duma ran more than two lengths behind in second while Yes Man finished another length away in third. The winning time was 1min 9.28sec for the 1,200m on the short course. Lim was relieved with Elite Prince's second win over the 1,200m trip, which he has raced over in all three starts in Malaysia, but reckoned the Mahalinggam Palanisamy-owned gelding could have his job cut out for him in the 3-Year-Old Mile Championship (1,600m) on June 29. "We were quite worried before the race, not just (the highest-rated) Duma, but many other runners too because they've all done quite well," said the Penang-born conditioner. "There's a lot of speed in the race and he (Elite Prince) has drawn wide, so we thought he could be caught wide. Luckily, he got across quite easily. "The 1,600m might be a bit too long for him. I would have to discuss with the owner and Shafiq again to decide if we run him then." First-time race partner Shafiq said a change of racing pattern could suit Elite Prince should he go over the mile. "I worked the horse in the week and I know he's got ability, because he won easily at his last start," said the former two-time Singapore champion apprentice. "Today, I was a bit worried because we drew wide, but the race worked out very well for him as he led easily. He kept going in the straight. "I think he can stay the 1,600m but we might have to change how we ride him." Lim has brought up his first hat-trick of wins in Malaysia since he relocated to Kuala Lumpur in Dec 2024. Before Elite Prince's victory in Race 7, Southern Speed ($52) took out the RM38,000 Class 5A contest (1,400m) for comeback jockey Troy See in Race 2, while King's Gambit ($15) saluted in the other Class 5A event (1,400m) under da Silva in Race 3. From seven rides at his first meeting in Malaysia on June 1 after eight years, See has racked up a winning double. After D's Secret ran fourth in the opener, the 36-year-old Singaporean jockey steered Southern Speed to a nose victory on his second ride. He then booted home another winner - The Wild Hero ($11) - for trainer Jason Ong in the RM38,000 Class 5A race (1,020m) in the last race. The 2018 Singapore champion apprentice last rode in New South Wales, Australia on Jan 21, 2023, when he incurred the wrath of the stewards for his conduct. He had a mobile phone in his possession during a random search performed in the jockeys' room at his last meeting at Murwillumbah. See, who rode 12 winners in Australia, pleaded guilty to three charges - possession of a mobile phone in the jockeys' room, refusal to obey a stewards' direction and hindering stewards in the exercise of their powers and duties. He was disqualified for 22½ months, from Jan 29, 2023 to Dec 15, 2024. Before he relocated to Australia, he had been riding in Singapore since his debut in 2012. See, who rode in six races for one third in Malaysia back in 2017, has since returned to riding in the barrier trials at Kuala Lumpur on April 2. sharonzhang@
New Paper
07-05-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Smart duo join Lim's Elite band
When we hear the word "elite" it is usually referring to something special. Like, top of the class or, the cream of the crop. Well, on the morning of May 6, the cream certainly rose to the top at the trials run off at the Selangor Turf Club. Elite Captain took the opener in dominant fashion and Elite Prince followed suit when he stole the show in the second hit-out of the morning. The wins from the two Elite horses owned by Mahalinggam Palanisamy must have given their trainer Richard Lim a bit of a spring to his step. The jockey-turned-trainer has endured a rather quiet time of late, having returned empty-handed from his last six race meetings. Boomba was the last winner - and ninth for 2025 - the former Kranji-based trainer led in on April 12. Lim had three runners involved in two of the four May 6 trials with his third racer - Legend Sixty-Three - taking second to stablemate Elite Prince in Trial No. 2. The Penang-born conditioner is famous for riding King And King to victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, more notably, thereafter shaking hands with the British monarch, who was at Kranji to witness the race. Well, that was then. This is now and Lim is slowly but surely making his mark as a trainer. Back to the trials and Elite Captain and Elite Prince did not just win their trials, they clobbered the opposition into submission. Elite Captain took the first trial by 3¼ lengths while Elite Prince won by 2½ lengths in the second, but they also ran time. Both of them broke the minute-mark for the 1,000m trip. The "Captain" clocked an impressive 59.53sec while the "Prince" stopped the clock at 59.79sec. In the first trial, Elite Captain, who had Uzair Sharudin in the saddle, jumped out from barrier No. 4 in that field of eight, and rather easily found the lead. After taking a four-length lead from Stop The Water (Laercio de Souza), the son of Brazen Beau opened up in style to win with a leg in the air. Then in the second, Uzair again found himself being legged up on a winner. A son of Bon Hoffa, Elite Prince settled in third spot until the 150m mark when he went after the leader, Golden Thirty Six. Given a flick of the reins and a dig in the ribs, Elite Prince responded and skipped clear to win as he liked. Stablemate Legend Sixty-Three came on like a good horse to claim second spot. Another horse to turn heads at the trials was Combustion, who, incidentally, was until recently prepared by Lim (in Singapore as well), but has now moved to Lim Shung You's (no relation) yard. With jockey Lim Shung Uai up and starting from barrier No. 3 on the sand track, the El Roca five-year-old quickly settled into the slipstream of Good Star and Raising Sixty-One, who were one-two at the 600m mark. Given rein at the furlong marker, he did what his stablemates had done in the earlier trials. He let rip and gave his rivals no quarters, winning that hit-out by 3½ lengths easing up. Combustion, whose two career wins in Kranji were over the longer 1,600m and 2,000m, clocked 1min 2.29sec for the trip. Yes, it was a great day at the office for Lim, even if trial wins do not change stats or bank balances. What those mock races, however, do is give trainers an insight of what the future may hold, especially for horses who are still relatively unexposed to racing. In Elite Captain, Lim has a good one in the making. A one-time winner in Geelong (1,230m) when known as Bracarde, the four-year-old ran fourth on debut in Kuala Lumpur on April 27 and his showing at the trials tells us that he is on the improve. As for Elite Prince, he is a three-year-old and the trial was his second morning hit-out. He finished runner-up to Kitsune in his first one on turf at Kuala Lumpur on April 8. That first one was a decent showing and the latest had a bit of that "wow" factor. If Elite Prince, who arrived as an unraced from Australia, can bring that trial form to the races, he could turn useful for Lim. brian@
