Four wins in a row on the cards for Irish Goodbye

You have to doff your hat to a horse like Irish Goodbye.

The Lawson Moy-trained four-year-old galloper is now three from three in Malaysia, so four on the trot will not be an impossible mission.

The bar will be raised higher when Irish Goodbye steps out for his fourth start in the Supreme C event (1,500m) on Dec 21.

Granted the son of Setembro Chove has scored in Class 4 – all over 1,400m and in three starts previously – but he still looks like the one they have to beat.

And to make sure that no stone was left unturned, Moy sent him out for a training gallop and, on the morning of Dec 16, Irish Goodbye did not put a hoof wrong.

On the No. 2 track which was rated soft, the bay galloper loosened up with a spot of cantering before turning on the style to run the 600m in 39sec.

On the strength of the Brazilian-bred’s unbeaten run, he should continue his winning ways.

To recap, Irish Goodbye said his first “hello” to Malaysian racing fans on Sept 14 when he romped in a winner in a Class 4B race on debut.

Since then, there has been no stopping him.

Five weeks later, on Oct 26, he showed that his debut win was no flash in the pan when he won a similar race by a comfortable length.

Following that, the Tan Cheong Soon-owned gelding had his third and last start in a Class 4A contest on Nov 22 and that too was a stroll in the park.

After clearing his chute with relative ease, he led all the way to get the goodies with a length and a quarter to spare.

All things point to Irish Goodbye – who landed in Moy’s yards through connections in Hong Kong – being the real deal. He is strong and takes no prisoners in his races.

Also on Dec 21, which is the second of a two-day meeting in Selangor, watch out for a strong showing from Scared Buddy in the highlight Supreme A contest (1,400m).

He is one of two in-form runners from Simon Dunderdale’s barn – the other being Te Akau Ben – and his work on the training track does suggest that he has what it takes to stay on that winning curve.

A last-start winner in a Supreme B contest over 1,400m on Nov 30, Sacred Buddy worked well on Dec 16 when running the 600m in a fluent 40.2sec.

A New Zealand-bred, he was a money spinner at Kranji where he won five races while under the care of his ex-trainer Desmond Koh.

Since relocating and joining Dunderdale’s yard in early 2025, he has shown racegoers that he has not lost form, ability or desire.

The Sacred Falls six-year-old has put together three wins in Malaysia – two in Kuala Lumpur and the one other win was in a Cosmo C event (1,100m) at the now-defunct Penang Turf Club on May 31.

Come Dec 21, Sacred Buddy will enjoy the Selangor layout and the 1,400m trip.

And the 59kg that he has to carry? It should not be an issue as he carried the same load when winning at his last start.

As for the eight-year-old veteran Te Akau Ben, he went over the 600m in 41sec and, being a two-time winner over the mile, the son of Tavistock could be the one running home late. And fans might just witness a Dunderdale’s one-two finish.

A day earlier, on the eight-race meeting on Dec 20, keep watch for Spicy Babe in the Class 4B race over 1,150m.

Owned and trained by the same connections of Irish Goodbye, Spicy Babe put in a good piece of work when running the 600m in 38.2sec.

An all-the-way winner in a Class 4B race at her last start over the short and sharp 1,020m on Nov 22, Spicy Babe should have little trouble negotiating the 1,150m.

After all, it was on Aug 3 that the Jukebox five-year-old mare won a competitive Open Maiden race over 1,200m.

A couple of starts later, in the Class 4B event over 1,200m on Oct 5, she came off a spot in midfield to finish a neck-second behind Pacific General.

The two-time winner has the ability to make it a race-to-race double. So, come Dec 20, accord her the respect which she has so far earned.

brian@sph.com.sg