Lucky Magic too classy in Ipoh

Versatile galloper Lucky Magic has now added another feather to his cap with his latest Group 1 triumph in the RM150,000 (S$47,000) Ipoh Ladies Gold Vase (1,400m) on Aug 23.

Currently the third highest-rated galloper in Malaysia at 102 points, the son of Mendelssohn is one of the rare few to have won Group 1 races in three Malaysian racing circuits, including the now-defunct Penang Turf Club.

Lucky Magic first had his name etched on the roll of honour in December 2024 when he took out the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Penang Gold Cup (2,000m) as a four-year-old.

Four months later, the Winson Cheng Han Yong-trained gelding scored a narrow victory in the Perak Derby over the same trip on his first start in Ipoh.

Lucky Magic then captivated racing fans again with his easy win in the Selangor Gold Cup (1,600m) at Sungai Besi on Sept 14, 2025.

But shortly after finishing third in the Group 1 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor (2,000m) on Dec 7, he had to be spelled for seven months due to muscle issues.

Connections were patient, and Lucky Magic duly rewarded them with back-to-back victories upon his return.

After his hard-fought neck-win in a Supreme A contest (1,400m) on July 19, Lucky Magic again showed his class in the Gold Vase, which was run over 1,100m in previous years.

Upon breaking, pacesetter Stop The Water (Syafifie Zailuddin) raced to the front, with Eruption (Jose de Souza) and Banker’s Smile (Johari Kamaruddin) settling in second and third respectively in the back straight.

Topweight Lucky Magic sat in fourth on the outside under first-time partner Bernardo Pinheiro.

Rounding the bend, Pinheiro began making his move aboard the New Zealand-bred, and the pair soon swung outwards for the final assault.

As Stop The Water began to fade at the 300m, Eruption grabbed the lead, but only for a brief moment.

The Simon Dunderdale-trained six-year-old hung out shortly after heading the field, but Lucky Magic ($9) was unperturbed — motoring home strongly on his outside.

He strode past Eruption with 100m to go.

Trained by Kevin Coetzee, Winning Stride (Wong Chin Chuen) was storming home fast, but the grey galloper had to settle for second another ½ length away.

Eruption held on well for third. The winning time for the 1,400m on the long course was 1min 21.06sec.

A 10-time winner over 1,200m to 2,000m, including four Group 1 races, Lucky Magic is now two-from-two in Ipoh.

Cheng, whose Speedy Samurai ($24) landed the Jockey Club of Turkiye Goodwill Cup (1,300m) two races later, is glad Lucky Magic has put his health issues behind him and already has two races in mind for the Happy Baby Stable-owned gelding.

“I want to thank the vets at Selangor Turf Club for doing a great job and also a big thanks to my team for their efforts in looking after him,” he said.

“We tried different things like changing his feed and it helped.

“The last time he won, he was about 70 per cent fit, and today I would say he was about 80 per cent there.

“It’s Bernardo’s first time riding the horse in the race and he liked him very much.

“Even though he carried a heavy weight (59kg) today, I was very confident he could win. Everything went according to plan.

“He is versatile, and I’m planning to run him in the NZB (New Zealand Board) Open Championship race next. Fortune Tree, another good Group 1 winner of mine, will also be running in that.

“After that, the pair will also run in the Selangor Gold Cup.”

Both feature races will be run in Kuala Lumpur. The NZB Open Championship (1,400m) is set for Sept 5 while the Selangor Gold Cup will take place on Sept 27.

Despite sitting on him for the first time, Pinheiro was rather impressed by Lucky Magic.

“It’s only my first ride on him, I didn’t ride him in trackwork or trials,” said the Brazilian rider.

“But I know him because he is the biggest rival of Antipodean, another horse I won many races with. They competed together often.

“He was already impressive at his last win after coming back from a long break.

“The weight was against him but we had a good draw, so I put him just behind the speed. The track was fast today.

“I saved as much ground on the fence, but I saw Eruption, with the light weight, had a comfortable run, so I made the run at the turn to chase him.

“He (Lucky Magic) has a good turn of foot. I don’t think he’s a 1,400m horse, I think he suits a mile and further better, but he’s a good horse.

“I don’t ride in Ipoh often, so I’m very thankful to the trainer again when they offered me the ride on the horse.”

sharonzhang@sph.com.sg