Rich N Powerful is still going strong

The margin was just a nose but the manner in which Rich N Powerful went about winning that race on Nov 2 would have earned her a busload of fans.

Always behind the leading pack in that 1,020m sprint in Sungai Besi, she found an opening when the field fanned out for the run home.

Not one to sneer at an opportunity, the Dream Ahead mare took it graciously and settled to do battle with Xanthos.

In a heads-up, heads-down battle to the line, Xanthos looked to have the upper hand. But Rich N Powerful refused to be cowed by that brazen gelding.

She kept up the fight and got her nose right where her jockey Nazir Aiman wanted it to be – on the line and in front of Xanthos.

At her 12th start in Malaysia, she had her second win on the board and trainer Tan Eng Peow had his 17th for the season, having scored his 16th with Brandenburg two races earlier on Nov 2.

Yes, it was a good day at the office for the 47-year-old handler who is in his second season as a full-fledged trainer.

Tan can pull off another win on Dec 1 when Rich N Powerful takes on a Class 4 (A) field (1,020m).

The six-year-old showed all the hallmarks of a runner retaining that last-start winning form when she won her trial on Nov 26.

Like that win on Nov 2, the gutsy galloper had to fight all the way to beat the boys and it was at the end of that 1,000m sprint that she claimed the honours by consigning Bold Runner to second spot.

Rich N Powerful ran the short and sharp trip in 1min 0.25sec. It turned out to be the fastest trial of the morning.

As for Bold Runner, whose race record reads one win from two starts, it was a good hit-out and he should be a force to reckon with when his trainer Ananthen Kuppan next sends him to the races.

Still a three-year-old, the son of Contributer seems to know what racing is all about.

Racegoers will remember that winning debut on Sept 29.

That day, when partnered by Ruzaini Supien in a 1,200m race, Bold Runner jumped cleanly and easily found a spot right behind the lead.

He stayed there – conserving energy and plotting a path – until the furlong mark when Ruzaini sent him on a winning mission.

He was game for it and quickly went on to eyeball Yes Man, the mount of Bernardo Pinheiro.

Racing like Siamese twins over the last 100m, it was at the post where Bold Runner put his head down to score by a neck.

After a 35-day break, a race-to-race double looked a possibility when he took on a talented Novice field over the 1,400m on Oct 27.

However, that double was not to be as he could only take third in a tight contest.

Bold Runner will come into his next assignment after having rested for over a month. Watch him at that next start. He could be the one to beat.

Remember Popeyethesailorman? The son of Reward For Effort did his early racing at Kranji where he played bridesmaid thrice when under the care of Tim Fitzsimmons.

Sent across the Causeway in the early days of the 2024 season, he quickly settled into his new home and scored three wins from just five starts.

That last win was on Sept 15 when he took a 1,020m sprint for trainer Nick Selvan. He recorded his first two wins for trainer Teh Ming Wan.

His next and last start on Oct 6 was a disaster. He finished down the course and a vet check revealed respiratory distress.

On their orders, he stayed away from racing for a month and his trial on Nov 26 signalled his return to active service.

Well, the break must have done him a world of good because he looked like a trouble-free horse when winning the opening trial of the morning.

Taking the lead at the top of the stretch for jockey Khairil Zulkiflee, he showed fighting spirit when winning a duel with Luen On Poseidon (Jackson Low Kang Cheng) over the final 100m.

He clocked 1:00.64 for the sprint trip.

Yes, Popeyethesailorman is in fine trim and, before the season is out, his connections could be looking at another win.

brian@sph.com.sg