First Group victory for trainer Mahadi Taib in Coronation Cup
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Trainer Mahadi Taib with Good Star (Shafiq Rizuan).
PHOTO: HEW FEE KIT
Sharon Zhang
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Consistent galloper Good Star flew home from last to claim the RM250,000 (S$78,000) Group 1 Coronation Cup (1,600m) in Ipoh on Nov 16, handing trainer Mahadi Taib his maiden Group victory in three years of training.
Since branching out on his own in 2022, the low-key Singaporean conditioner has tasted his fair share of successes in Singapore and Malaysia, albeit not yet a Group race until the promising Good Star came along.
Among Mahadi’s six wins this season, the son of Shalaa has contributed to four of them.
He got off the mark in a Novice race (1,400m) at Sungai Besi on June 22, before taking out Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Cup (1,800m) in a thriller on Aug 31.
Good Star lined up for his first Group 1 test in the Selangor Gold Cup (1,600m) on Sept 14, but he became riderless after jockey Khairil Zulkiflee fell in a racing accident caused by Platinum Emperor.
The Good Stable-owned galloper again showed his fighting spirit when winning the Asia Pacific Cup (1,800m) at his last start at Sungai Besi on Oct 26.
Always in the top three bar two starts ago in the Gold Cup, Good Star had his run timed to perfection by Shafiq Rizuan this time.
After jumping, the $13 shot slowly found himself at the rear of the nine-horse field, with Big Hearted (Wong Kam Chong) and Flying Nemo (Ikram Jamaludin) parked on his outside.
The Jason Ong-trained Pacific Warrior (Jerlyn Seow) led with Fortune Tree (Andre da Silva) and Man Of Action (Haikal Hanif) close behind in second and third respectively.
As they turned for home, the Nick Selvan-trained Latin Legend (Khairil) made an early move to sit outside of Man Of Action as the leaders upped the ante.
With the front trio not making ground quickly, Good Star – who was still five lengths away at the 300m – began making inroads under Shafiq’s urgings.
It was in the final 100m when Good Star’s late assault proved fatal, as he gobbled up ground on the outside to finish on top of Latin Legend by a neck. Pacific Warrior hung on well to finish another ¾ length away in third.
Mahadi revealed Good Star sustained a minor injury after the Gold Cup, but was elated with his success at his first run in Ipoh.
“I’m just so happy and excited after winning my first Group race, and also a Group 1,” he said.
“I’ve always planned to run Good Star in the Coronation Cup. After that accident in the Gold Cup, he cut his shoulders, so I backed him off for 10 days or so and ran him in the Asia Pacific Cup last time.
“I didn’t expect him to win that prep run because I knew he wasn’t 100 per cent, but he’s just a good horse.
“I was confident before the race that he can win because he pulled up very well after his last gallop on Tuesday and clocked 39sec.
“But we were all worried just now when he was some distance away (from the leader) in the straight.
“But I saw he travelled very well on the long course. When Shafiq gave him a smack, he responded very well. He has that good turn of foot.
“If he pulls up well, we will run him in the Piala Emas. I think he’s a stayer, so the 2,000m shouldn’t be a problem for him.”
The Group 1 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor (2,000m) will be run in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 7. It is the final Group 1 race on Malaysia’s racing calendar this season.
