Malaysia’s best performed galloper from two seasons ago, ANTIPODEAN will be making his racetrack return and will be clashing with a couple of group winners in Sunday’s main event, the 1300m Charity On The Turf Trophy at the Selangor Turf Club.
ANTIPODEAN resumes and is first up since finishing unplaced in the 2000m G1 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor contested on December 7 last year when caught deep throughout. Entering Sunday’s feature with ten ratings points clear of his nearest rival, the five-year-old will be reacquainted with senior jockey R Shafiq, who has ridden the gelding on two previous occasions. G1 Ipoh Gold Vase winner, FILIAL DRAGON resumes from a bleeding attack sustained in November and his recent trial at the February 3 session suggests he will be primed first up. Last year’s G1 Tunku Gold Cup winner, NOAH KHAN received every chance when placed 5th, beaten three lengths behind Platinum Emperor when resuming last month and will strip fitter despite coming from the outside gate. PLATINUM FORT ran third in that same race despite being winless from ten starts in the country, the six-year-old is on the way back to his best form.
Four-year-old performer, SMART CAT is a chance to atone for recent defeats when he lines up in the 1275m Class 4B contest (Race 2). With two wins from seven starts locally, the Ricky Choi trained gelding has been racing well in the grade recently and the descent to the “B” Division is a distinct advantage. Sometimes it is difficult to gauge the performances of maiden winners rising to Class 4 territory at their next start. One horse which fits the bill is MIRAGE PEGASUS who was dominant when scoring by 4.25L on his debut last month. However, it wasn’t the strongest of Open Maidens contested here recently which does raise the question mark whether he will be competitive at this level. Considering the ease and manner of his first victory, a win would not surprise for the UK bred three-year-old.
There is a big chance that the winner emanating from the 1150m Open Maiden (Race 3) could be one of seven debutants plus a former Australian with race experience on local debut. From the trials, the Jason Ong trained three-year-old YES BOSS YES has displayed the traits of a talented type in the making with his sheer ability and willingness to compete against experienced opposition. Well prepared with several trials under his belt, he is a definite watch on debut. BANKER’S DREAM was placed twice from eight starts in Australia and is coming off an impressive trial win here last Tuesday week. First up since July, the four-year-old can continue the good run for trainer Johnny Lim and the Banker’s Stable. FORTUNE MAGIC and PRIME PEGASUS have both performed well at the trials recently and are likely to make the grade with race experience.
MAXIMUS PEGASUS is yet to miss a place in four starts and finally gets his chance to break through in the 1400m Open Maiden (Race 8). The Nick Selvan trained galloper has started favourite in three of those runs but looks likely of returning a dividened to his loyal followers come Sunday. BANKER’S GOOD, placed three from four locally, has also attracted market support in the past and was a fraction unlucky when finishing third after an awkward jump last start. LUCKY MEGA did not disgrace when placed third on debut and will derive a lot of benefit from that performance.
