H.Y. Cheng makes trials his own

Trainer Winson Cheng Han Yong was in a great winning mood at the trials of the morning of June 30.

Represented by five runners in two of the four hit-outs which were contested, the Kuala Lumpur-based trainer’s gallopers won both and, for good measure, his three other runners all made the board.

Lucky Magic took second spot in the first heat won by stablemate Fortune Rising while Storm Titan completed the trifecta.

Then, in the second trial, AI Rocket charged home from no-man’s land to win by a short head leaving stablemate and early leader He Man to fade into fourth.

Cheng’s trio occupied the three outermost chutes in the first trial, an eight-horse affair, but it never bothered them.

Fortune Rising, who would eventually take the honours, led from barrier to box.

Ridden by apprentice jockey Lim Weng Hooi, he was neatly into stride and was soon joined by stablemate Lucky Magic, who had Haikal Hanif doing the steering.

With 500m to travel, the pair had more company when Storm Titan (Simon Kok Wei Hoong) came into the picture.

Fortune Rising went on to beat Lucky Magic by two lengths with Storm Titan another half a length adrift in third spot, while the rest did not finish that far behind.

Not asked to do more than was necessary, Fortune Rising clocked 1min 0.04sec for the trip.

No sooner had the dust settled that AI Rocket lined up with six others for the second trial.

Another one ridden by Haikal, he was never in a hurry to get involved in the fight up front.

Indeed, for most part of the 1,000m journey, Haikal had AI Rocket parked in midfield – some six lengths behind He Man, who dictated the pace.

A furlong out, urged on by Haikal, AI Rocket rapidly gained on the leading pack and in a frantic finish he swooped to score by a shorthead from the Johnny Lim Boon Thong-trained Silent Move (Nuqman Rozi).

The Star (Ikram Jamaludin), from Simon Dunderdale’s yard, slipped into third spot which left Cheng’s other runner, He Man, to have to settle for fourth.

AI Rocket clocked 1:00.12 for the sharp sprint.

After uncharacteristically coming home empty-handed at the just-concluded Selangor meeting, Cheng does seem to have a couple of good ones in Fortune Rising and AI Rocket.

As of now, Fortune Rising is two for two, but his 100 per cent record was achieved when he was under Richard Lim’s care.

A two-time winner at city tracks in Australia, the Alabama Express four-year-old opened his Malaysian account in a competitive Open Maiden affair on March 8. Ridden by Shafiq Rizuan, he powered home to win that 1,200m contest by 1½ lengths.

Next time out on March 29, Fortune Rising was duly stepped up in grade and claimed the Tunku Abdul Rahman Trophy (1,200m), beating Banker’s Emperor by three parts of a length.

Tipped out for a break, he stayed out of the public eye until this week’s winning trial.

To date, Fortune Rising has lived up to expectations and, in the coming months he should deliver even more wins, just like AI Rocket.

The Highland Reel four-year-old has had seven starts for two wins, two seconds and a fourth.

He is expected to contest the RM1 million (S$317,000) Selangor Mile on July 26 and, on his current form, Cheng will be expecting big things from the handsome chestnut who will turn five years old just six days after the big race.

The last two barrier trials went to trainer Joseph Leck’s Imaginate and Johnny Lim’s Never Give An Inch respectively.

Imaginate (Aify Yahaya) finished ahead of fellow first-timers, the Buffalo duo of Navarre Regent and Capet Regent in barrier trial 3, while Never Give An Inch (Nuqman), who is still a maiden in three starts, showed he might have turned the corner with a nine-and-a-half-length demolition job in the last trial.

brian@sph.com.sg