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New Paper
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Paper
Storm Titan blows them away in trials
With 12 wins for the season, Richard Lim's takings so far have been modest. But, he does have some good ones in the yard. One of them has yet to face the starter, Storm Titan. Right now, he is shaping up as a three-year-old with absolute potential. The faithful who usually take in the gallops and the morning trials at Sungai Besi will know him. After all, he has been to the trials twice and, like that first one on May 14, this latest one on May 27 was a treat to watch. Here is how it all unfolded. As the runners took their spots in the gates, Storm Titan was, like a bantam rooster - all strut and style. Fitted with pacifiers and jumping from the innermost chute, he was quickly into his stride. Prominent in his red headgear, he led the way with Born To Win (Khairil Zulkiflee) and Wan Legacy in close attendance. Taking the shortest route home, he led them by three lengths at the top of the stretch and looked to have done enough until Captain Pegasus (Fikri Ismail) threw out a challenge at the furlong mark. The four-time winner got close but Storm Titan had enough in the tank to wrap it up by half-a-length. Bingo Master slotted in third. Storm Titan clocked a decent time of 1min 0.82sec. It was a repeat of that first trial on May 14 when Storm Titan jumped cleanly and took the lead after just 300m. The three-year-old stayed there, not allowing any of his rivals to get close to him. He eventually coasted in a two-length winner and he did the trip in 1min 1.64sec. That day, like on the morning of May 27, Lim elected to allow apprentice Uzair Sharudin do the piloting and, by the looks of things, the youngster will be doing everything in his power to retain that seat when Storm Titan does make his raceday debut. Yes, Lim has got a really good one in the barn. A New Zealand-bred by Ace High, Storm Titan has the makings of an honest brawler. Sure, he is competitive. Then again, so are most - if not all - thoroughbreds in this business. But, the thing about Storm Titan is the fact that he does not like to lose. We saw it in this latest trial when Captain Pegasus tossed in a challenge. Storm Titan took the bit between his teeth and, in that last throw of the dice, he had more desire than Captain Pegasus and the rest of the beaten brigade. That said, Captain Pegasus was hardly disgraced. To have run second at Sungai Besi was, in itself an achievement as all of Captain Pegasus' four career wins were on the track at the Perak Turf Club and when the Shamexpress seven-year-old was under the care of trainer Kevin Coetzee. Now with Siva Kumar, he has yet to appear for him at the races. And yes, it has been a long time between drinks for the connections as Captain Pegasus' last win was on April 7, 2024. However, and on the strength of his run at the trials, he deserves some thought when Siva does send him into the mix. Earlier in the opening trial of the morning, the Winson Cheng Han Yong-trained Thousand Mile Eye seemed content to stay third for most of the early part of the 1,000m trip as Pacific Empire (Clyde Leck) and Shinjuku (Laercio de Souza) traded blows up front. Just when it looked like he was going to settle for a "minor placing", his rider Haikal Hanif asked him for an effort and Thousand Mile Eye responded. Stepping on the gas at the furlong mark, he caught the leaders by surprise and his turn of foot swept him to the front. To his credit, Shinjuku refused to give up the fight and he rallied. But the momentum was with Thousand Mile Eye and he went on to take the trial by a short head, clocking 1min 0.41sec for the sharp sprint. A two-time winner from 17 starts, his last win was on July 21. But his last three runs have been commendable and he could be worth a punt at his next start. brian@
New Paper
27-04-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Ka Ying Rising to The Everest
The FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin on April 27 delivered in spades on its slogan of a day to "celebrate champions", but probably more so in the HK$22 million (S$3.7 million) Group 1 Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) with another smashing display by the World's Best Sprinter, Ka Ying Rising. Without taking anything away from the winners of the two other Group 1s, Japan's Tastiera (Damian Lane) in the HK$28 million FWD QEII Cup (2,000m) and surprise local winner (won in the stewards' room) Red Lion (Hugh Bowman) in the HK$24 million FWD Champions Mile (1,600m), a 12th consecutive win carved with such arrogance at the highest level by the horse David Hayes has already called the "best horse he has ever trained" was the real showstopper. Besides picking up a HK$12 million cheque for the win, the Shamexpress four-year-old also made a clean sweep of the Hong Kong Speed Series to collect a HK$5 million bonus with previous wins in the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) and Group 1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m). Four horses pulled off the Triple Crown before - Mr Vitality (1995/96), Grand Delight (2002/03), Silent Witness (2003/04 and 2004/05) and Lucky Sweynesse (2022/23), the previous World's Best Sprinter, who was at his racing comeback in the Chairman's Sprint Prize, finishing a gallant sixth. The coronation of a new sprint king could not have been more emblematic from the way the $5.30 favourite was cuddled to the line by Zac Purton before being eased down to win by 2¼ lengths from Japan's Satono Reve (Joao Moreira) and Helios Express (Bowman). Hong Kong's superstar has taken all before him on home soil, but the biggest test - and payday - awaits next at his first overseas raid in the world's richest turf race, the A$20 million (S$16.8 million) Group 1 The Everest (1,200m) at Randwick in Sydney on Oct 18. "What more can you say? Every time you come out here, he produces something special," said Purton to the Hong Kong Jockey Club. "He did that again today and he didn't even change his leg. He puts them away very quickly. "He can have a break now and the next one is the big one." Hayes said that Ka Ying Rising would now go straight to Conghua, Hong Kong Jockey Club's training centre in mainland China, for a well-deserved rest. "He loves it up there, and he'll have a month to himself going out in the beautiful day paddocks," said the Australian trainer. "Then we'll start targeting to hopefully have him ready to race at the start of next season with The Everest in mind." Two races later, the Champions Mile was decided in the stewards' room, but the Bauhinia flag would fly high again, either way. Two local horses fought out the finish. The John Size-trained Red Lion outbobbed favourite Voyage Bubble (James McDonald) by a short head for a shock $454 upset, but had to wait for stewards to dismiss McDonald's objection for interference in the last strides. The flop of the race was Australia's top horse Mr Brightside (Craig Williams), who faded to last place. The third showpiece was, however, an all-overseas affair, with Japan filling the first two spots with Tastiera ($18) and Prognosis (McDonald) with Bahrain's Calif (Adrie de Vries) third. manyan@
