Malaysia could see the rise of a new Superpower

Trainer Frank Maynard is leaving nothing to chance in his preparation for Superpower’s Malaysian racing debut.

Since taking over Superpower from Joseph Leck in mid-April, the Australian has not rushed the newcomer into action, but neither has he loafed around with him.

To date, Maynard has sent his charge to two trials which, when coupled with the two the galloper had when under Leck, making it a total of four morning hit-outs but no racing.

Maynard’s patience may soon pay off, based on Superpower’s impressive win at the trials on the morning of Sept 8.

It was his best showing to date and, if anything, it might bring Maynard and the gelding’s connections into believing that their galloper is finally ready to do battle on the racing stage.

Ridden by Troy See, the five-year-old was nicely away and, on a track which was rated “good”, he soon had a commanding lead.

Up in the saddle, See kept him going at a steady gallop and it was only at the furlong marker that he asked his mount for an effort.

Superpower was ready to go and opened up in style, eventually beating the Jason Lim-trained 83-point rater Mega Khan by two and a half lengths.

Not only that. Superpower, who has a rating of 58, clocked a really smart time of 59.76sec, which would turn out to be the fastest sprint of the morning.

It is quite evident that Superpower does know a thing or two about winning and racing.

As a three-year-old, plying his trade in Queensland, Australia, the son of Russian Revolution, who was then known as Stop The Tape, raced six times for a win over 1,200m in rural Dalby and two third placings.

One who has already been to the races at Sungai Besi is Mega Prominence.

Unsighted at his two starts, the Jason Lim-trained galloper was a different proposition at the trials, winning the second heat with some authority.

Ridden by Oscar Chavez and jumping from the innermost gate in that field of eight, he was all the while involved in a three-way battle with Jin Sakamoto and Polaris.

It was tough going but he showed grit when he fought for victory over the final 150m.

With the Lawson Moy-trained Polaris (Fikri Ismail) never giving an inch, Mega Prominence had to dig deep into his reserves to eke out a short-head win in a time of 59.95sec.

Jin Sakamoto, from Richard Lim’s yard, settled for third spot.

A three-year-old colt by North Pacific, Mega Prominence was at the trials by order of the club’s vets, after he returned lame from his last start on Aug 22.

Mega Prominence passed his test and is now eligible to take his place with the rest of the runners in that Restricted Maiden sprint over the 1,200m on Sept 13.

Another one who got the nod from the vets was Legacy Fortune.

He was at the end of a three-week embargo after returning with respiratory distress from a race on Aug 9.

There was clearly nothing amiss with him at the trials.

Ridden by Ruzaini Supien, the Dragon Pulse seven-year-old battled it out with Moali (Fikri) before getting the verdict by a short head.

The Irish-bred boasts an honest record of four wins, seven seconds and four third placings from 56 starts.

Trainer Ananthen Kuppan has entered him for the Class 5A sprint over the 1,400m, but he might not be able to get a spot in the gates as he is one of the reserves in the capacity field.

However, the next time Legacy Fortune earns a start, he will definitely warrant a second glance.

brian@sph.com.sg