In-form Kim Emperor stamps his authority at barrier trials
KL may also soon go ‘wild’ with trainer Ooi’s new yard addition
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Kim Emperor (Jackson Low Kang Cheng) strolling to an easy win in his barrier trial at Sungai Besi on Nov 25.
PHOTO: SELANGOR TURF CLUB
Brian Miller
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It must be good to own a racehorse like Kim Emperor whose record reads: Eight starts for three wins and a second.
Trainer Richard Lines does have a good one in the yard and if further convincing was needed, Kim Emperor showed up at the trials run on Nov 25 and he came away with flying colours.
Ridden by Jackson Low Kang Cheng and up against the likes of Antipodean and Te Akau Ben, Kim Emperor put on a show to win his hit-out by three lengths.
On a track rated yielding, the Highland Reel five-year-old clocked a modest time of 1min 3.19sec.
But, more than anything else, it was the manner of the trial win which would have send a strong signal he was ready to rumble.
Jumping from Gate Five in that seven-horse affair, Kim Emperor sat third on settling and, with 600m to travel, he was still two lengths behind front runners, Leiniao (Lim Shung Uai) and Battle Cry (Mohd Zaki).
He crept closer on straightening and went full throttle at the 150m mark.
He eventually put daylight between himself and the fast-finishing Antipodean (Jordan Mallyon) who was having barrier practice. Te Akau Ben (Khaw Choon Kit) was a further neck behind.
But, at the end of that 1,000m dash, it was all about Kim Emperor.
A convincing winner on his June 7 debut, Kim Emperor ran second at his next start on June 22 and, after four unplaced runs, he put together a race-to-race double on Oct 25 and Nov 8.
That last one was a gem of a win. He came from near last at the top of the straight to beat Red Sun by a nose.
Kim Emperor is now gunning for “three on the trot” and it could pay to watch for him the next time Lines sends him to the races.
As for runner-up Antipodean, it was just another day at the office.
The 2024 Group 1 Selangor Gold Cup winner was clearly not out to overstretch himself and he would have trotted back to his stall looking like the champ that he is.
The soft run would have topped him off nicely ahead of his upcoming run in the Group 1 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor over 2,000m in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 7.
The second trial of the morning produced an interesting result.
A new import who has yet to be named had trackwatchers scrambling for their form books in search of a name and past record.
On checking who was that Australian-bred four-year-old by Territories, it transpired he was a relative newbie who used to be known as Wild Wild West in South Australia.
He was far from a superstar for leading trainers Richard and Chantelle Jolly, but he was just coming along when he was flown over to continue his racing at the Selangor Turf Club.
Until then, he had two starts in South Australia for a second on debut at Gawler and a win at his second and last outing which also came at Gawler in a 1,100m Maiden race on a heavy track.
He was then shipped to trainer Ooi Chin Chin who first introduced him to Malaysian racing fans at those Nov 25 trials.
It turned out to be quite an introduction – a 10-length walloping.
Up in the saddle, Akmazani Mazuki had most of the work done for him.
The horse he had beneath him was going great guns and when they turned for the run home, all he could see – if he looked behind – was a posse fading into the distance.
Before he knew it, the chestnut was home and hosed and Ooi’s secret was out.
So, remember the trainer and remember the sire. It is Ooi and the runner is by Territories.
When you next see this pairing down to contest a race on Malaysian turf, be a part of the action and have something riding on the combination.
However, in terms of speed, the fastest trial of the morning was done by Rocky Bhai who took the final sprint in 1min 2.11sec.
Rocky Bhai did not break the minute-mark because of the wet track conditions. So, no worries.
He had to dig deep when challenged by Cinnamon Blaze, but he prevailed, winning by a neck.
To date, Rocky Bhai has won three races and has placed second five times. All that from just 16 starts.
It has been three months since his last win on Aug 24.
The Microphone four-year-old could be getting antsy and trainer Nick Selvan could be plotting another foray into the winner’s circle.
