Talented trio top KL training sheets
Platinum Emperor, Antipodean and Pacific Vampire ready to trade blows on April 18
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Platinum Emperor (Benny Woodworth) landing a last-gasp victory in the Supreme A race (1,200m) at Sungai Besi on Jan 25.
Photo: SLTC
Brian Miller
April 14 Kuala Lumpur trackwork
The top three rated gallopers in the Supreme A race at Sungai Besi on April 18 have turned in the most impressive gallops on the morning of April 14.
Platinum Emperor, Antipodean and Pacific Vampire all ran up to expectations.
Platinum Emperor, with his lofty rating of 111 points, clocked 37.8sec for the 600m. He had veteran Malaysian jockey Benny Woodworth doing the steering.
Antipodean, who carries a rating of 108 points, was swiftest of the trio when disposing of that same distance in a flashy 36sec while Pacific Vampire was hard held to clock 39.3sec. That, after being trotted into the back stretch to begin his run.
The state of the track was rated “good”.
Taking it from the top of the ratings, Platinum Emperor will trot into the 1,400m contest on the back of a good run in his last start.
That day, in the Group 1 Tunku Gold Cup (1,200m) on March 29, the Ricky Choi Chun Wai-trained six-year-old took the scenic route and seemed content to watch his rivals do battle in front of him.
The son of Sweynesse stayed in 15th spot – and second from last – until the 300m mark, where he fashioned a run which saw him sail into fourth spot behind winner Fortune Tree.
The extra 200m which he will have to cover at his next start will suit his preferred “come-from-behind” style of racing. Keep an eye on the four-time winner, as he could be the one involved in a fight to the finish.
Antipodean looked like a tourist in that same race on March 29.
Under Kaidan Brewer, the Derryn five-year-old was slow out of the gates and never got into a rhythm.
He eventually finished an uncharacteristic last.
Do not hold it against the 2024 Group 1 Selangor Gold Cup (1,600m) winner. Trainer Simon Dunderdale’s runner is better than that.
It was only the third time in Antipodean’s 24 Malaysian starts that he failed to finish among the top four.
Much the same could be said about Pacific Vampire. His last-start effort in the Tunku Gold Cup was a head-scratcher.
Sent off as one of the fancied runners in the sprint feature, the Jason Ong-trained galloper never gave his supporters a run for their money.
After holding in second spot, the openings came at the top of the straight, but Pacific Vampire called it a day and faded quickly to finish 14th.
Going back to his days at Kranji where the son of Impending won four races, Pacific Vampire has won five events at the Selangor Turf Club and, being just a six-year-old, his work for Ong is far from finished.
Elsewhere on the 10-race meeting, Hennu Stall drew attention to his chances in that Combined Classes 4 and 5 race (1,700m).
Another one from Dunderdale’s yard, the Australian-bred ran out the 600m trip in a swift 35.8sec. That was after some cantering.
Hennu Stall came through to deliver a win at his last start in a Class 5A event (1,775m) on March 28.
That day, when ridden by Ikram Jamaludin, the son of Alpine Eagle sat behind the leading pair until the field had fanned out for the run home.
Asked for an effort, the six-year-old lengthened strides to win going away by 1¼ lengths.
On the strength of his workout, Hennu Stall seems to be holding that last-start winning form and, going over his favoured trip of 1,700m, he looks like a force to be reckoned with.
