Colonel Son asserts his superiority in gritty win at Sungai Besi barrier trials
A bleeder in his last start, 6YO gelding gets thumbs up from vets
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Colonel Son (Benny Woodworth) finishing the best in the first trial at Sungai Besi on April 21.
PHOTO: SELANGOR TURF CLUB
Brian Miller
Colonel Son was a let-down in his last start on Jan 18, but do not be too hasty in consigning him to the “has-been” box.
It was unfortunate, but the Lim Shung You-trained galloper suffered a bleeding attack from both nostrils.
Awful as it might have been, Colonel Son had to be barred from racing for three months.
Then, he had to pass a bleeder’s test by competing in a trial, according to the rules of racing.
For fans of the six-year-old Australian-bred, the three-month ban ended on April 18.
It was on the morning of April 21 that Lim sent his charge for that veterinary test.
Running in the first of three trials that morning, Colonel Son was in flowing form.
Under Benny Woodworth, the son of Pariah showed his rivals a clean pair of heels over the 1,000m at Sungai Besi on the yielding track.
With a spring in his step and, what tracksiders saw as sheer intent in his eyes, Colonel Son strode away to win his hit-out by half a length – and he did it in a fairly decent time of 1min 1.18sec.
It was not the swiftest of the three trials run off that drizzly morning, but the veterinary team would have been suitably impressed as they gave the galloper the thumbs-up and a passing mark.
The former Singapore galloper can now continue his illustrious career, which has so far seen him win twice at Kranji, twice in Ipoh and twice in Kuala Lumpur.
Colonel Son has not been entered for the Sungai Besi meetings on April 25 and 26, but the 71-point rater will see action sooner rather than later. Watch for his return. It could be a winning one.
Incidentally, that opening trial was a stable queue-up for Lim.
Silver Samurai, ridden by Mohd Ekdihar, took that runner-up spot, beating the Winson Cheng Han Yong-trained Air Mobility into third.
A four-year-old New Zealand-bred, Air Mobility arrived in Malaysia on March 14, 2025. He made his debut on Sept 21 when he finished a good third to Pantong in an Open Maiden race (1,200m).
The Ribchester son was expected to improve at his next start in a similar race over 1,250m on April 12, but he managed only fourth behind Jinling Starblitz.
However, there were excuses as he returned lame.
He passed the vet’s test on April 21, and has been entered for the Open Maiden contest (1,300m) on April 26.
Do include the four-year-old galloper, who had three starts in New Zealand for a third when known as Magic Tycoon, in those novelty bets.
The final trial of the morning saw Mega Skye (Zulhilmi Mazuki) run away to a one-length win over the Jason Lim-trained Forever Sixty-One (Oscar Chavez). Trainer Simon Dunderdale’s So We Fight (Kaidan Brewer) took third.
Mega Skye, who trialled with blinkers, clocked 1:00.71.
Still a three-year-old, the Frank Maynard-trained galloper arrived unraced from New Zealand on Feb 14, 2025.
His initial three starts, beginning on Sept 28, 2025, were unimpressive but his last-start second behind Sir Ruby in the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Graduate Cup (1,400m) on April 5 would have earned him some fans.
Mega Skye seems to have trained on nicely and a win at his next start might just happen.
