Fortune Tree rewards Richard Lim with maiden Group 1 success
Singaporean trainer bags treble, including Tunku Gold Cup with promising 4YO in KL
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Sharon Zhang
Richard Lim has won his first Group 1 race as a trainer, after the up-and-coming Fortune Tree got up by a nose from last-start winner Duma in an exciting finish in the RM300,000 (S$97,300) Tunku Gold Cup (1,200m) at Sungai Besi on March 29.
The former Malaysia champion jockey had actually won the Tunku Gold Cup twice, with After Me Please (2002) and Golden Rainbow (2006), in his 16-year career in the saddle.
But the Singaporean conditioner, who began training at Kranji in 2022 and claimed his first and only Group win with Super Salute in the 2024 Group 3 New Year Cup (1,200m), had tried his luck only twice in Group 1 races since moving his base to Kuala Lumpur in 2025.
Dream Alliance ran unplaced in the Selangor Gold Cup (1,600m) in September 2025, before Fortune Tree’s fifth in Ipoh’s Coronation Cup (1,600m) two months later.
Four starts later, the son of Ardrossan took a stab at glory again in the Tunku Gold Cup. Despite the outside gate 13 being a dampener, Fortune Tree duly rewarded Lim and owner Lee Swee Eng for their trust and patience in him.
Ridden by Aify Yahaya for the first time, Fortune Tree found himself in midfield shortly after jumping, albeit three wide after being unable to cut across in the big field of 16.
With Yes Man (Shafiq Rizuan) and Pacific Vampire (Jerlyn Seow Poh Hui) showing an abundance of speed up front, Aify made sure the four-year-old kept up with the pace as they turned for home.
While Pacific Vampire punctured in the straight, Fortune Tree ($84) gave chase behind Yes Man, who broke away to a three-length lead.
At the 100m, Fortune Tree raced past Yes Man, but to his outside, Pacific Energy (Jordan Mallyon) and Duma (Ruzaini Supien) loomed large.
It would seem Duma had the edge in the thrilling three-way finish as the Frank Maynard-trained galloper gained momentum with every stride, but Fortune Tree fended him off by a nose.
Pacific Energy settled for third another neck away. Favourite Platinum Emperor (Benny Woodworth) flew home for fourth.
The winning time for the 1,200m on the short course was 1min 09.01sec.
Lim admitted he was only “50 per cent sure” victory belonged to Fortune Tree on the line.
“He finished well, but we were only ‘50-50’ about him winning, until we saw the slow-motion camera showing the race replay that he held off Duma,” he said.
“He worked very well in his trackwork and gallops in the few weeks leading up to this race. But, honestly, when we got barrier 16 (13 after scratching of three emergency acceptors), I was disappointed.
“We knew the pace was going to be fast, so I told Aify to use him up a bit from the start to cross and sit in either third, fourth or fifth position.
“We also planned to steal the race upon turning for home, but when I saw he wasn’t able to cross in the big field and sat wide in the back straight, I was a bit concerned.
“Shafiq rode him in his past races, but he could not make the 53kg today, so we found Aify, who was also satisfied with Fortune Tree’s gallop on Tuesday.”
Lim, who pulled off a treble courtesy of Fortune Rising ($9) – also owned by Lee – in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Trophy (1,200m) and Sheesh ($17) in the opening Father Of Malaysia Stakes (1,600m), said Fortune Tree was brought into Malaysia with the four-year-old feature, the Selangor Mile (1,600m) on July 26 in mind.
“He will take a short break now because there aren’t suitable races next month, but we already had the RM 1 million Selangor Mile race in mind since we bought him,” said Lim.
“I’m very happy with my first Group 1 win, and I want to thank the owner for his patience and trust in us.
“He is a relatively new Malaysian sole owner who came into the racing scene last year, and has seven horses with us now.
“Fortune Rising also gave us positive feelings before his race. He has potential, but we’ll also give him a short break and he’ll come back in May.
“Sheesh had been disappointing last year since he came over to Malaysia, but he won easily last start and is in good form.”
Visiting Australian jockey Liam Riordan opened his Malaysian account with a double at his second day of riding – aboard Dream Ma ($37) in Race 7 and Fire ($22) in Race 10.
One day earlier at the 12-race meeting at Sungai Besi, Irish Goodbye ($21) stormed home for an easy victory in the highlight RM53,000 iRace Trophy (1,400m) for trainer Lawson Moy and jockey Uzair Sharudin.
