Secret Wonder springs upset in Pools Trophy
Trainer Lim’s 4YO rises to the challenge in open race named after S’pore gaming outfit
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Sharon Zhang
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Not many saw it coming, but for the handful who did, Secret Wonder repaid their trust with a handsome dividend of $87 after he made it two-from-two in the RM100,000 (S$31,000) Singapore Pools Trophy (1,200m) in Ipoh on Nov 16.
A small delegation consisting of the Singapore gaming company’s board member Tan Choon Shian, chief product officer Simon Leong and deputy director (product content) Steven Tan was on hand at the biggest race meeting of the year at Perak Turf Club to witness the running of the Pools Trophy.
Besides the named race by the local gaming outfit, three other highlight contests in Ipoh were the Group 1 Coronation Cup (1,600m), the JRA Goodwill Trophy (1,200m) and the Royal Sabah Turf Club Goodwill Trophy (1,400m). The latter two were Class 4A races that saw their prize money elevated to RM50,000 each.
“Singapore Pools is proud to continue strengthening our close partnership with our Malaysian neighbours, including the Perak Turf Club, to bring exciting and high-quality racing content to our fans,” said Leong.
“The naming of a Singapore Pools Trophy race for the second consecutive year reflects the strong bond between our organisations and our shared passion for developing and growing the sport together on the global stage.”
Trained by Wayne Lim, the son of Supido had just opened his account in a Class 4A race (1,100m) at Sungai Besi on Sept 28 last time, but he was clearly unfazed by the rise in class to an open contest, and at his first run in Ipoh too.
Ridden by Shafiq Rizuan for the first time, Secret Wonder landed in midfield position on the rails, while front runner Tom’s Lightning (Zulfikri Salim) led with the talented four-year-old Fright (Khaw Choon Kit) keen in second and proven sprinter Pacific Vampire (Jerlyn Seow) sitting in third.
As they rounded the bend into the straight, Shafiq gradually took Secret Wonder to the outside and the pair made their run from out wide at the top of the straight.
Tom’s Lightning faded at the 250m, and Fright was quick to lead from Pacific Vampire, who was running on.
The Simon Dunderdale-trained three-time winner looked to have the race all sewn up at the 100m, but he had not reckoned with Secret Wonder, who closed in steadily with every stride before getting up by ¾ length on the wire.
Colonel Son (Lim Shung Uai) came from further back to motor home into second, relegating Fright to a neck-third.
The winning time was 1min 12.91sec for the 1,200m on the short course.
Lim thought it would not be easy for his Australian-bred to beat runners like 2025 Group 1 Tunku Gold Cup (1,200m) winner Noah Khan, handy sprinter Pacific Vampire and the up-and-coming Fright second-up, but Secret Wonder proved him wrong.
“He only had one run in Malaysia, and he’s rising to Class 1 this time. I expected him to run probably in the top four, but not win so impressively,” said the Malaysian handler.
“There were proven Class 1 gallopers like Noah Khan and Pacific Vampire, and also Fright in the field, so we were concerned.
“The track was also choppy today, and he looked like he couldn’t handle the track. We wanted him to sit just behind the pacemakers, but maybe the pace was too fast for him, so he ended up further back than we wanted.
“But he has continued to improve since his last win, so we’ll see how he pulls up.
“He’s still not fully mature yet. He actually won with blinkers in Australia last time, but when we let him wear that to the trials, he bolted and was too keen.
“But he settled better with the earmuffs, so he wore them in the races today.
“He’s a nervous horse, even when he was on the way to the barriers, he needed the starter hack to accompany him.
“I bought him for his Malaysian owner after his last win. He’s a sprinter and I think we’ll keep him to 1,200m, and maybe run him in the sprint feature races next year.”
Lim had purchased Secret Wonder for owner Liau Kean Leong for A$55,000 (S$46,600). He ran thrice in Australia, and scored at his third and last start in a Maiden Plate (1,000m) on March 8 before coming over to Malaysia.
