Solid Eighty-Three looks good

For a long while there, it looked bleak for Solid Eighty-Three and his connections.

After a sterling 2023 which saw him put together four wins, the tap suddenly went dry.

The current season looked anything but sterling.

Indeed, it was bleak.

Solid Eighty-Three seemed to have lost it – and it was not for a lack of trying.

Ananthen Kuppan, who in June, 2024, took over training duties from Richard Lines, knew he had inherited a good horse.

It was just a matter of waking him up from his slumber.

So he raced him and sent him to the trials.

The last of the latter was on Aug 6 where Solid Eighty-Three ran a smack-up second to Royal Flush.

He seemed ready and all dressed up for his seventh career victory.

But it was not to be.

The five race starts following that trial produced a second, two thirds and a fourth.

Not bad. There was money in the kitty.

But where was the win?

Well, it had to come and it did. On Nov 2, in a 1,500m race at Sungai Besi, Solid Eighty-Three turned in – well – a solid show, leading all the way to bring it home for Ananthen and the Sarkar Golden Stable.

Well, it might not end there.

The wins could keep on coming and, drawing a line through his workout on the morning of Nov 12, it just might happen when Solid Eighty-Three lines up for his assignment on Nov 17.

Yes, his workout was impressive and those at trackside would have seen him stop the clock at 41.9sec for the 600m.

It was the type of workout trainers love to see.

No fuss, no bother. Just a solid, genuine gallop.

Yes, a race-to-race double looks on the cards and Ananthen had better polish up on those smiles as he will need it for the post-race photo-taking session.

The same goes for trainer Siva Kumar.

He has a team of eight entered for the meeting on Nov 17 and his best hope could be Noah Khan.

The son of Swiss Ace was in flowing form on the training track where he ran the 600m in a fluent 37.3sec.

After Noah Khan won a 1,400m race on Nov 12, 2023 for his former trainer Lim Shung You, Siva was instrumental in getting the gelding into the winner’s enclosure for the second time.

That was when he beat a Class 4 (A) field over the 1,100m on Aug 11.

Promoted to Class 3, he was unable to duplicate that winning show, finishing fourth behind Revolution in a 1,200m race on Sept 8.

Last time on Oct 13, when dropping back in Class 4, the six-year-old finished fifth in a 1,200m race won by Jungle King. He was 2 1/2 lengths behind the winner.

Come Nov 17, Noah Khan gets a chance to add a third win to his credentials and, on his trackwork form, he just might pull it off.

The same could be said for Arthur Pegasus.

He too impressed the clockers at trackside when he ran the 600m in a slow but flashy 38.2sec.

Prepared by Kuala Lumpur trainer Nick Selvan, Arthur Pegasus is one of those horses who comes along once in a long while.

He just does not realise that he is getting on in years.

Right now, the son of Congrats is a nine-year-old who has had 73 race starts in Malaysia.

But, at an age where he should be taking it easy on some pasture, he is still running his heart out – and, to his credit, the wins just keep coming.

Indeed, his last five runs since turning nine on Aug 1 have produced three wins – and he is still racing with the best of them.

Take that last win on Oct 13. It was in a highly-competitive Class 4 event over the 1,800m and Arthur Pegasus put it to bed easily.

Ridden by three-kilogram claimer Syafifie Zailuddin, Arthur Pegasus was parked in fifth spot for most of the trip which covered two sweeping turns of the Selangor racecourse.

He made a move at the 400m mark and swept past hot favourite Garudan to take the honours with 1 1/4 lengths to spare.

His last race was in that high-class Coronation Cup in Perak on Nov 3.

Up against some of the best in Malaysia, he rattled home to take sixth.

The old boy has been nominated for a Metro (A) sprint over the 1,400m.

The trip might seem a tad short but you can trust Arthur Pegasus to give you a run for your money.

That is his style – and you cannot take it away from him.

 

brian@sph.com.sg