Red Dragonfly looms large on light weight
Stablemate Gold Medal Rose is bang on target for four wins in a row in Class 3 event
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Red Dragonfly (Khaw Choon Kit) winning the Class 4A race (1,400m) at Sungai Besi on April 5, 2025. The Ooi Chin Chin-trained five-year-old galloper will face eight other runners in the Wilayah Silver Bowl (1,200m) on Feb 15.
PHOTO: SELANGOR TURF CLUB
Brian Miller
After some impressive workouts by trainer Simon Dunderdale’s pair of Thunderous and Eruption on Feb 10, the gallop of the morning on Feb 11 came from Red Dragonfly.
The Rubick five-year-old was in his element when running the 600m in 38sec flat.
That was after being put through some serious trotting on the grass track at Sungai Besi.
With his rating of just 61, the Ooi Chin Chin-trained Red Dragonfly will be bunched up as one of the lesser lights in the Wilayah Silver Bowl (1,200m), slated as Race 6 on Feb 15.
But as things stand right now, it might not be a smart idea to rule him out as a contender.
In a career which began under the care of Mahadi Taib at Kranji on June 3, 2023, Red Dragonfly has since raced 36 times.
He has added some good money for the Red Dragon Stable and won seven times, albeit all in Malaysia and for his current handler Ooi.
It was just two runs back in a Class 4B event (1,400m) that he landed his seventh race. That day, on Jan 3, he led his rivals on a merry chase, leading from barrier to box.
Such was his dominance that the New Zealand-bred left the eventual runner-up, Wait U Know, wallowing in the wilderness, some 5½ lengths in arrears.
Although the Class 4 company seems to be his comfort zone, he has made the board in Class 3 on April 27, 2025. So, give the lightweight chance some respect when he lines up in the feature race in Kuala Lumpur.
Ooi has been meticulous in getting and keeping his racer in the pink of health, and with a pull in the weights – Ooi’s runner will carry 54kg as opposed to the 59kg which topweight Thunderous will have to shoulder – that may be the tipping point in Red Dragonfly’s favour.
Elsewhere on the 10-race meeting, there could be a good one in the seventh event.
That is where Gold Medal Rose struts her stuff.
A four-year-old mare with a future, she could pull off a sixth victory on Feb 15.
Another one from Ooi’s yard, Gold Medal Rose was raring to go when sent out for her training gallop.
On a track rated “good”, she produced a fine piece of work under jockey John Sundradas when running the 600m in 38.7sec.
The daughter of Wrote gets into the action on the back of a hat-trick of wins – that last one coming as recently as Jan 25 when the lass beat the lads by 1¼ lengths in a Class 4A sprint over 1,200m.
Like Red Dragonfly, that too was in Class 4, and she now has to rise to the challenge in Class 3 company.
The bay mare would not be bullied by the big boys.
We have seen it happen in her five wins where she towered over her male oppositions. Come Feb 15, Gold Medal Rose can make it a cool half dozen.
Then, and again from the training track, there was Otahuhu who created a good impression when running the 600m in 37.2sec.
From Nick Selvan’s stable, the four-time winner will get into action in Race 2 – a Class 5A contest (1,200m) – on the back of a third to Friend Of Honor in a similar race over 1,275m on Jan 24.
As it stands, the track and trip will suit the Overshare six-year-old. And with Haikal Hanif’s 3kg allowance, Otahuhu will carry just 55.5kg – and that too, should suit.
If you are planning a trip to the racetrack, be there early for Otahuhu and stay on for Red Dragonfly in the sixth and Gold Medal Rose in the seventh.
From their showings on the training track, the trio have form in their favour, and we should see them carry it into their races.
