Stop The Water in flowing form

Feb 3 Kuala Lumpur barrier trials results

From the four trials – three on the grass and one on the sand – run at an even-handed morning on Feb 3, the winners hailed from four different yards.

Richard Lim, Tiang Kim Choi, Jason Ong and Richard Lines shared the spoils, as did the riders. 

Mohamed Lukman took the first when guiding Lim’s Fortune Wheel to win by a head.

Farhan Ghazali grabbed the second when steering Banker’s Rising to a 2½ length win. Uzair Sharudin took the third aboard Yes Boss Yes by a neck.

In the last, the fourth winning jockey aboard Stop The Water, Akmazani Mazuki, probably got to enjoy the Sungai Besi scenery the most.

In that hit-out run on the sand track, there was no stopping the winner from the moment he scooted away at barrier rise.

He was six lengths clear at the top of the straight and, up in the saddle, Akmazani must have felt like deja vu. He was the winning jockey at his six-length romp in a Class 3 (1,020m) on Dec 20, 2025.

Again, Stop The Water never gave his rivals a look-in, beating second-best Mega Reliable, who had Akmazani’s younger brother Zulhilmi up, by a massive 18 lengths in 1min 2sec – easing up.

Oscar Chavez, who rode the David Kok-trained Pacific Chief into third spot, could only watch as the winner in those yellow silks with blue spots faded farther and farther into the distance.

It was much like how Superb Winner won his trial by 20 lengths on Jan 27.

Stop The Water has been a really good horse to have in the yard. The son of Headwater has bagged four wins for Lines, who took over his training since the beginning of 2025, adding to his previous tally of three wins for his previous handler, Steven Burridge, at Kranji.

Being only five years old, it means there are loads of racing – and wins – still to come.

As for the other winners on the day, a shout-out must go to Banker’s Rising and Yes Boss Yes.

Both came mighty close to breaching the minute-mark. Banker’s Rising did the trip in 1min 0.1sec while Yes Boss Boss did it a tad slower – in 1min 0.21sec.

In Trial No. 2, Rocket General (Akmazani) exploded away as if from a launch pad and quickly skipped six lengths clear.

But Banker’s Rising soon closed in and when they made the 600m mark, Farhan had the Tiang-trained galloper right on the withers of the runaway leader.

Into the home stretch and they were neck and neck. But it would all soon change when Banker’s Rising shot clear at the furlong mark.

There the unraced Frosted three-year-old stayed, eventually beating Rocket General by 2½ lengths. Diaz (Low Kang Cheng) was a long third.

In the third trial, Yes Boss Yes was always in the hunt. He cleared the chute cleanly to sit on the heels of the unnamed Dandy Man runner from trainer Siva Kumar’s yard. Comeback (Akmazani), who gave trouble during the loading process, was a close-up fourth.

Into the stretch and it was a two-horse affair but, as it turned out, Yes Boss Yes found something extra to beat Comeback by a neck. Winning Symphony (Shafiq Rizuan) took third – some four lengths in arrears.

Prepared by reigning Malaysian champion trainer and two-time Singapore champion trainer Ong, Yes Boss Yes is a Yes Yes Yes three-year-old who has yet to face the starter in a race.

However, it is worth noting that he has won three of his four trials going back to Dec 9.

Right now he looks sufficiently tight and topped up for an impressive debut. Watch him when he gets his racing plates on.

brian@sph.com.sg