Coronation Cup upset in Ipoh
Macau Derby winner Mega Gems upstages favourites in Malaysian Group 1 mile race
Kuala Lumpur trainer Wayne Lim Woei Chet finally broke his maiden Group status after Mega Gems snagged the RM250,000 (S$75,400) Group 1 Kawan ESG Coronation Cup (1,600m) in Ipoh on Nov 3.
Into his 13th year of training and with around 250 winners to his name, Lim came the closest to breaking his feature race duck with top galloper Golden Pegasus, beaten a short head by Malaysian star Antipodean in the Group 1 Selangor Gold Cup (1,600m) on Sept 8.
Mega Gems had not even had his Malaysian introduction then, but his glowing Macau resume could certainly double Lim’s chances of ticking that box.
The Zoustar five-year-old counts the Group 1 Macau Derby (1,800m) in July 2023 as one of his four wins in the former racing jurisdiction (closed down on April 1), when known as Master Hunter and trained by Peter Ho.
He has, however, not saluted since then, but certainly had the credentials to be Lim’s secret weapon provided he acclimatised to the local conditions.
After two unplaced runs – a fourth and a seventh – his connections, including new owner MG Stable, could have wondered if the engine was still there.
But Lim, 45, who is the elder brother of ex-Kranji trainer Richard – and now his neighbour at Sungai Besi after Singapore racing ended on Oct 5 – had a good hunch it was just humming, and needing the right race to roar into life.
“The first two trips (1,100m and 1,200m) he ran over were too short,” said Lim.
“He was also racing over two turns and the other way of going as he raced clockwise in Macau. He still flew home.
“As a four-year-old, he won the Macau Derby. I knew he needed a mile and above, the Coronation Cup was the perfect race for him.
“I actually had the confidence he would run well today.”
From someone else’s perspective, it was hard to share that optimism from the get-go when Mega Gems ($63) was slow out of the gates to drop at the rear.
He did creep up closer from the 800m, but still spotted favourite and leader Berry Bliss (Clyde Leck) around eight lengths.
Any possibility he could join the fray only materialised when the 10-horse field fanned across the track.
Jockey Lim Aun Kean, who was partnering him for the first time, was well inspired when he went for a path straight down the middle.
Good Fight (Andre da Silva) drew first blood when he shot past the fading Berry Bliss while Ragnar (Jackson Low), who also missed the start, was storming home down the outside.
But none of them could find an answer to Mega Gems’ superior turn of foot, all bowing down to a new Ipoh king getting his crowning moment in only his third start, in the Coronation Cup.
“I’m so happy I won my first Group race. I’ve waited for that moment for 12 years,” said Lim, who had Richard to celebrate by his side at Ipoh.
“I’d like to thank the owner for his support. He’s Malaysian and has been with me for a long time.”
Lim’s day got even better when he saddled a double with $12 favourite Chosen One – formerly trained by Richard at Kranji – winning what was supposed to be the penultimate race, but worked out to be the last after the last of the 11-race programme was abandoned due to inclement weather.
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