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- Sport
- New Paper
Pacific Victory, Man Of Action shine up north
KUALA LUMPUR The super-consistent Pacific Victory was rewarded with his first trophy success on June 15, when he beat a top-notch field in the RM200,000 (S$60,000) 4-Year-Old Sprint Championship (1,200m) at Sungai Besi. But a bigger prize could be in store for the Jason Ong-trained Rubick gelding when he lines up for the RM1 million Selangor Mile, a 1,600m race for four-year-olds, on July 20. "He is our stable favourite. I will see how he pulls up but he will be going for the Selangor Mile if all goes well. That is the target," said two-time Singapore champion trainer Ong who is already well clear on the Malaysian trainers' log on 50 winners. "He is a versatile sort and should take the mile as he has won over the distance. He is improving with every run. He was in better shape than in his previous start." Pacific Victory has indeed taken to his new surroundings in Kuala Lumpur like a duck to water, winning his debut in Class 3 last December and has since added five more victories and notched three seconds in 10 starts. Jerlyn Seow, who has ridden in all but one of Pacific Victory's starts in Malaysia, has now saluted seven times aboard the Pacific Stable ward, including one at Kranji when then prepared by Tan Kah Soon. The two other feature races at the bumper 13-race programme in Kuala Lumpur also highlighted two worthy winners. Ong was once more the happy recipient at the prize presentation after Filial Dragon (Wong Kam Chong, $47) earlier claimed the Korea Racing Authority Trophy, a Class 2 (1,020m) event. The third "Cup" race, the TNI Charity Cup, a Class 3 (1,600m) event, went to Richard Lines' Gulf Eagle (Andre da Silva, $32). A day earlier on June 14, the Perak Turf Club meeting saw seven races ironed out for decision, with the Kevin Coetzee-trained Man Of Action (Harmeet Singh Gill) arguably the winner with the most upside after he claimed the RM26,000 Cosmo C race (1,300m). Known at Kranji as Arya Pakuan, a winner of three races for Stephen Gray (one) and James Peters (two), the Sebring five-year-old had taken his Singapore form across the Causeway with two wins for his new Ipoh trainer Coetzee. He has, however, not been seen since his last-start win in a Cosmo C race (1,400m) on April 26. But he was as nimble as ever when he easily accounted for his five rivals under an inspired ride by Gill. Coetzee said that the long break was not by design, but it clearly bore no ill-effects. "I targeted him for the Penang Turf Club Farewell Trophy but there were too many horses ahead of him in the ratings. He was not even handicapped," said the South African handler. A Cosmo C race was programmed on June 8, but the 1,100m trip was deemed a touch too short for him. The wait by another week for a more suitable race proved to be right on the money. Backed down to solid $11 favouritism, Man Of Action was well held together by Gill, smothered up midfield in a bunched-up pack before he was let loose upon straightening. TURFONLINE
New Paper
10-06-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Eruption ready to explode
Racegoers at Sungai Besi should be in for a treat when the Four-Year-Old Sprint Championship comes up on June 15. Invariably, there will be a bully in the pack, as it has often been the case when such aged series are contested. This year, the big boy in this feature over the 1,200m event appears to be Antipodean. With a rating of 103 and 10 wins from 15 outings - that last one coming on April 5 - Antipodean should start as the logical favourite in the showcase event. But the son of Derryn, who has recorded nine of his wins for Simon Dunderdale and only one for his current trainer, Tiang Kim Choi, might have his work cut out. Emerging from the training track on the morning of June 10, a couple of runners threw down the gauntlet. They could be the ones out to spoil the party for Antipodean. In particular, take note of Eruption and Big Union. Sure, they are both considered "lesser lights" on the big stage but, if allowed to throw in some punches, they both could do damage. Eruption would have gone into the notebooks of many at trackside when he ran the 600m in 37.6sec, while Big Union did not put a hoof wrong when disposing of that same trip in an easy 40.6sec. And, drawing a line through their recent showing in races, both have legitimate chances in that big race for four-year-olds. Eruption boasts a stellar record for the first half of the 2025 season. He won a 1,400m race on Jan 26 and he was again successful over that same trip on April 27. Last time on May 18, when sent away as the raging favourite, the son of Xtravagant found one to beat in Pacific Warrior, who took the honours when winning by half a length. Eruption has since trained on and, while the 1,200m might seem a tad short, his style of racing of staying close to the lead should see him involved in the finish. Yes, Antipodean does seem like he is the one to beat. But, should the Lawson Moy-trained Eruption explode over the final furlong, we might just see fireworks. As for Big Union, he is a huge chance in the contest coming up. Indeed and right now, he must seem like gold dust to his trainer Jerome Tan and the Cat Racing Stable. Big Union has been off the board just four times in his 16 outings at Kranji and now at the Selangor Turf Club. Sure, he has yet to knock home a win in all of his six starts in Malaysia - but he has not been left stranded in any of those races. Last time - on June 1 - and in a "high class" event, he went down fighting to Pacific Victory. A run earlier, on May 18, he ran fourth to the very exciting Pacific Vampire in a Supreme race over the 1,100m. The son of Zoustar will enjoy the short and sharp 1,200m he has to cover on June 15, as three of his five career wins at Kranji were over this same trip. He will give his rivals in the big sprint something to think about. So, keep him in your calculations. Outside of that feature event, two runners entered for the Class 4 sprint over the 1,100m were also put through their paces on the training track. They were War Dragon and Cheerful Baby. War Dragon clocked a flashy 37.6sec for the 600m while Cheerful Baby went over that same trip in 38.2sec. Forget the fact that War Dragon is a 10-year-old going on 11. The son of Battle Paint still believes he is one of the young crowd and, when in the mood, he can still raise a pretty neat gallop. We saw it three starts back on Feb 23 when he ran a half-length second to Legend Ninety Two. It has been a long while since War Dragon, who is also prepared by Moy, last won a race but, on the strength of his work, he might be a good one to toss into those novelty bets. As for Cheerful Baby, another Tan ward, he has been sparingly raced and the assignment coming up will be his second in 2025. However, he has been to three trials and his last one on June 4 saw him finish third behind the winner Kim Legend. His claim to fame must be the time he put together four wins in a row when racing at Kranji. The son of Brazen Beau is not going to do that any time soon but, given his work on the training track, he could, in his next few runs, be capable of bringing home his first Malaysian pay cheque. brian@
