Fright thrown in at the deep end in Singapore Pools race
Big leap in class does not scare Dunderdale’s rising star in Singapore Pools Trophy in Ipoh
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The Simon Dunderdale-trained Fright (Khaw Choon Kit) smashing his rivals at his third consecutive win in a Class 3 race over 1,020m at Kuala Lumpur on Oct 5. He, however, found one better at his next start, and will now try and bounce back to winning ways in the Singapore Pools Trophy (1,200m) at Ipoh on Nov 16.
PHOTO: SELANGOR TURF CLUB
Michael Lee
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The Singapore Pools Trophy may be the supporting act to the Group 1 Coronation Cup (1,600m) on Nov 16, but to reigning Malaysian champion trainer Simon Dunderdale, it is anything but a consolation cup.
The Kuala Lumpur-based New Zealander would have actually loved to revisit Ipoh’s mile feature to keep a good run going. He joined the honour roll in 2023 with Good Fight, and nearly went back-to-back if not for an in-form Mega Gems raining down on his parade last year.
Stable star Antipodean could have been a shoo-in for this year’s renewal, but Dunderdale decided to think out of the square.
“I’m trying something different with Antipodean. He’s never been tried beyond the mile,” he said.
“Instead of trucking up to Ipoh, we’ll give him a let-up and set him for the Piala Emas Sultan Selangor (Dec 7) – there’s no reason why he can’t get 2,000m.”
Dunderdale may have eschewed the Coronation Cup path this time round, but another race on the undercard appealed.
Perak Turf Club’s RM100,000 (S$31,000) Open speed dash (1,200m) named in honour of Singapore’s gaming outfit looked like the ideal interstate race for his rising star Fright.
It comes three weeks after the Brazen Beau four-year-old was rolled for the first time at his fourth start
Ridden by regular partner Khaw Choon Kit, Fright had to spend some petrol to muster his customary speed to land in front, only to be kept honest by Stop The Water for most of the way.
Softened up and unable to kick clear like at his previous wins, he still dug deep but was blindsided by long shot Hasten’s sneaky run on his inside.
The end of an unbeaten streak is always a bitter pill to swallow, but Dunderdale was still proud of his ward.
“A horse took him on, which didn’t help, and C.K. Khaw was caught napping. He didn’t see the other horse get from under him, he still ran great,” said the trainer.
Redemption is not the main driving force for the three-hour float between states. The different venue is not the only changed variable to the equation.
“We decided after his last race that this Ipoh 1,200m would be a nice race for him,” he said.
“He’s up in class, but as he’s always been carrying top weights like 59kg, he now gets a nice weight of 55kg.
“There will be a lot of speed in the race with horses like Pacific Vampire and Tom’s Lightning. I had a good talk to C.K. and we agreed we would let them go.
“With the lighter weight, he can sit second or third. I believe he can drop back.
“In a couple of his races, he found his feet and we didn’t force him into the front. He gives every indication he’ll go up to 1,400m one day.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing him take a sit, and whether he can sprint home, the long Ipoh straight will tell us that.”
Dunderdale believes that feature of the Perak Turf Club racecourse will not be main rival Pacific Vampire’s cup of tea, though.
“The longer Ipoh straight may make Pacific Vampire more vulnerable. He’s been getting run down lately,” he said.
“On the other hand, Noah Khan comes from behind and is a very good horse, but we also have a weight pull on him (3kg).”
Fright, who was placed three times in four starts in Australia, carries the familiar green colours of Griffin Stable, whose Singaporean owner Rodney Too once raced the likes of former top juvenile Kaiser, Sebas and Griffin with the late Theo Kieser at Kranji.
“Rodney currently has just Fright with me. I knew the moment that horse came to our stable he was above average,” said Dunderdale. “Hopefully, Rodney gets more horses over to us very soon.
“He’s flying up to Ipoh to watch Fright race. Unfortunately, I won’t be there as I’m currently in New Zealand for the sales, but I will be watching for sure.”
