Platinum Emperor springs major upset in Silver Bowl
Trainer Choi bags second treble, including Platinum Emperor, who won on Kuala Lumpur debut
Outsider Platinum Emperor flew home with a barnstorming finish to take out the RM100,000 (S$30,500) Wilayah Silver Bowl Trophy over 1,200m at Sungai Besi, handing trainer Ricky Choi Chun Wai his third win of the day on Feb 2.
Although the former Macau-based trainer has already bagged a double with Platinum Glory ($13) and Family Delight ($98) earlier on the 10-race programme, Platinum Emperor’s sweeping run to victory in the highlight race on the fifth day of Chinese New Year was the showstopper.
Ridden by Nuqman Rozi, the five-year-old son of Sweynesse tailed off early in the 14-horse field after jumping from barrier 6, biding his time while noted speedster Pacific Vampire (Bruno Queiroz) quickly took over the lead from Witnessimpact (Jerlyn Seow) in the back straight.
As the field turned for home, Pacific Vampire, who won three starts over 1,200m at Kranji previously, tried to keep last-start winner Witnessimpact at bay.
All eyes were on the Simon Dunderdale-trained son of Star Witness who was inching closer to Pacific Vampire with every stride, but Choi’s galloper decided he would crash the party.
Under Nuqman’s strong urgings, the former Macau-trained Platinum Emperor unleashed a blinding turn of foot from the 300m to sprint past the tiring leaders for a comfortable 2¼-length win. Another debutant, Shirvo (Lim Aun Kean), had to settle for second while Ototo (Wong Kam Chong) ran third another 1¾ lengths away.
Witnessimpact faded badly to finish eighth while Pacific Vampire knocked up badly to run 11th. The winning time was 1min 9.7sec for the 1,200m on the short course.
Not many saw the win coming from Platinum Emperor, who was friendless in the market at $179, but Choi was hopeful of a good run from the Platinum Racing Stables-owned gelding, albeit ring-rustiness was his only concern before the race.
Formerly known as Famous Rainbow when trained by Cheong Sio Hun in Macau, Platinum Emperor won eight races from 1,200m to 1,800m over two seasons, but has been on the sidelines since his last race on March 30, 2024 at the now-defunct Taipa racecourse.
“He is a very good horse. I didn’t train him in Macau but I liked him a lot and saw the potential in him,” said the former Hong Kong jockey-turned-trainer, who scored his first three-timer in Malaysia with Lucky To Win, Luen On Feelings and Revue on Dec 15.
“But he has not run for about a year, so I thought he needed this first-up run.
“In saying that, I made sure he was in very good condition before the race, so my only worry was him coming back to race after so long. I thought he could run very well, but did not expect him to win so easily.
“He’s a lazy horse, so I told the rider not to leave him too far behind in the race. He has quite a strong finish, and although he (Nuqman) put him a bit further than I had preferred today, what matters is that he still won in the end.
“He has won up to 1,800m in Macau so he will be even better over a bit of distance.”
Choi, who returned to China for the Chinese New Year, was not on hand to welcome Platinum Emperor at the winner’s circle, but Nuqman was glad he won at his first ride on the New Zealand-bred galloper.
“The horse has a good record (in Macau) and it’s the first time I am riding him,” said the 28-year-old Malaysian.
“My instructions were to settle him where he’s comfortable and come home, but the pace was just too fast.
“The horse was very light on his feet when I cantered him to the start. That’s when I felt confident of a win.”
Also owned by the Platinum Racing Stables, Showtime four-year-Old Platinum Glory took out the RM45,000 Kuala Lumpur Stakes, a Class 4B race over 1,400m in Race 3 with an all-the-way win under Queiroz, the visiting Brazilian jockey who won his first race in Malaysia atop Pacific Padrino in the Chinese New Year Prosperity Trophy (1,600m) on Jan 31.
Choi’s second winner, Family Delight, gave Chinese jockey Liang Xiaochuan his first outright win in the RM49,000 Petronas Twin Towers Stakes, a Class 4A race over 1,600m in Race 5. Liang steered Snow Dragon to a dead-heat win with Stop The Water on Jan 26, when he tasted his first race success in Malaysia.
Trainer Parama Sivan Veerapen, better known as V. Sivan, saddled four runners at the Kuala Lumpur meeting in which former Singapore sprinters King Arthur and Super Salute led a 1-2 in the RM62,000 KL Tower Stakes race over 1,100m.
A margin of 1¼ lengths separated the pair on the line in the Metro A event, with King Arthur (Fikri Ismail, $79) taking the upper hand from Super Salute (Saifudin Ismail), a former three-time Group winner at Kranji.
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