Kevin Coetzee bags another three-timer in Ipoh

IPOH – Trainer Kevin Coetzee has pulled off another hat-trick of wins at the Ipoh meeting on May 16.

The Ipoh-based South African handler is currently trailing Johnny Lim Boon Thong (29 wins) and Simon Dunderdale (26 wins) on the Malaysian trainers’ log. With 24 wins this season, he sits third on the premiership table.

After Fight To Win, Colonel Chief and Sousui won at Perak Turf Club on May 9, Coetzee continued his winning streak with Infinite Wisdom, the same Fight To Win and Straight N Arrow a week later.

First, it was the veteran galloper Infinite Wisdom who made amends for his expensive failure last start to land the RM30,000 (S$9,700) Class 4A sprint (1,000m) in Race 4, making that the third victory in his last four starts.

The son of All Too Hard returned to his best with back-to-back wins in Class 5 races in March.

Promoted to Class 4 last time in a Class 4A event (1,000m) on April 4, the chestnut galloper, however, laid back when the gates opened and fly-jumped at the start.

Though the Coetzee-owned Australian gelding quickly made up lost ground to set the pace as he loves to do, the early effort took its toll and he faded to finish fifth.

This time, Saddam Saari – who last rode and scored on board Infinite Wisdom in a Class 5A contest (1,100m) last November – ensured Infinite Wisdom ($11) jumped well from gate 1 to lead all the way and beat the 2024 Group 1 Ipoh Gold Vase (1,100m) winner Kong Fu Panda (Haikal Hanif) by ½ length.

To Coetzee, the win looked easier than the margin had suggested.

“Saddam eased him up a long way from the post,” he said. “Looks like he (Saddam) was getting ready to take the winning photo.”

Fight To Win ($14), who won first-up for Coetzee in a Class 5B race (1,400m) last week after transferring from Khor Peng Hwa’s yard, delivered a quick back-to-back double for Coetzee when he claimed a fighting win in the Class 5A race (1,300m) in Race 5.

Ridden once again by Shiva Ngyanasegaran, the Heroic Valour four-year-old gelding did not lead from start-to-finish this time, but Shiva opted to come from third in the running due to interference early in the race.

“My instructions were to lead but I was squeezed out by Genrich and Thunder Spirit and had to ease back,” explained Shiva.

Thunder Spirit (Zulfikri Salim) led into the straight but drifted out approaching the 200m and Fight To Win had to switch to his inside to make his challenge.

Fight To Win hit the front 100m out, then had to stave off the challenge from Brotherly Love (Hafis Saari) to score by a head. Thunder Spirit held on for third another 3¼ lengths away.

Two races later, Straight N Arrow ($15) ran down the front-running Running Spirit (Oscar Chavez) to claim the Class 5B race (1,300m).

Saddam previously partnered the So You Think nine-year-old galloper to victory in a Class 5B event (1,400m) last November.

The Malaysian jockey, who was stood down after riding one winner – Sousui – for Coetzee on May 9, missed his chance to ride a double then.

It was Rueven Ravindra who replaced him on Colonel Chief and recorded his comeback win on the 11-year-old gelding.

He added two more wins to his tally on May 16 after the Lim Hoon Seng-trained Air Boss ($21) and the Wong Kong Fatt-trained War Frontier ($58) landed the Class 5A race (1,300m) and the Class 4B contest (1,300m) respectively.

The former Kranji-based hoop suffered a broken left arm and deep cut to his mouth after a race fall in October 2025. He spent four months on the sidelines before returning to racing on Feb 14.
TURFONLINE