Brandenburg scores third win in a row

A quick back-up in Ipoh saw Brandenburg frank his winning form with, arguably, his most impressive victory thus far.

The much-improved Better Than Ready four-year-old not only showcased his versatility by switching to leading tactics to winning effect, but by also doing it the hard way – claw his way back from the jaws of defeat and score going away.

Coming off a two-in-a-row, both earned by producing late on rain-affected tracks – including his last-start Ipoh win at his step-up in class to a Class 4A (1,100m) last week (Nov 23) – Brandenburg sprang the first surprise when replacement jockey Harmeet Singh Gill sooled him to the lead from his middle draw in the RM35,500 Class 4A (1,300m).

The pattern shift would have raised a few eyebrows among those who backed him down to $15 favouritism. He had never led at his 16 previous starts, let alone at any of his four wins.

When Ahtims Klis (Yudanyl Aify), a former 90-point rater who came within a whisker of claiming the Group 1 Coronation Cup (won by Elite Remarkable, now renamed Colonel Chief, who, by coincidence also won the next race) two years ago, came off a three-wide trip to serve it up to him, Brandenburg’s charmed run was in danger of coming to an end.

It was all over bar the shouting when the nine-year-old mare swept past en route to her ninth success.

But Brandenburg can add one more string to his bow in his remarkable asecent from Class 5 anonymity: sheer grit.

Just when it looked like game over, he found a second wind under Gill’s urgings, reeled Ahtims Klis back in before bounding away to a 2¾-length win.

Winning trainer Tan Eng Peow admitted he was among the large majority who had given up hope at the 300m, but was still banking on time being on his charge’s side.

“I was a little bothered when the other horse passed him,” said the third-year Kuala Lumpur trainer.

“But I still had some hope because my horse is much younger, and I was confident he could fight his way back, and he did.”

Brandenburg was chalking up his sixth win in 17 starts, with only one win coming under someone else’s care – his first in a Class 5A race (1,200m) in April when trained by Peter Lee.

Within a month, the entire had moved to Tan’s yard, where his ratings have skyrocketed from 39 to 57 in 10 starts that yielded three wins prior to Saturday’s, which should earn him another five or six points.

Tan, who has 34 horses under his care, humbly said there was no magical formula to the noticeable form turnaround.

“He’s still a very young horse. It was all natural improvement,” he said.

“I feel he’s a horse who prefers a wet track, and is quite versatile. I think he can go over further.

“The plan wasn’t to lead on Saturday. I told the jockey to be on the pace.

“But as the pace was quite soft, he found himself in front, and he just led.”

Tan said he was not scared to back him up after his last win.

“He pulled up good after his last win, and I then spotted that 1,300m race in Ipoh,” he said.

“So we decided to stay here and go for it. He’s been working well and did a good job to win again.”

Gill picked up the winning ride on Brandenburg after Lim Aun Kean was indisposed for the weekend’s races, including the Piala Emas Sultan Selangor meeting at Sungai Besi on Dec 1.

The win was the icing on the cake for the 40-year-old jockey, who also scored aboard two other rides – Char Kway Teow ($16) and Fountain Of Fame ($12) – for a treble.

Char Kway Teow’s trainer Lee shared the honours with Gill as the recipient of a similar haul, as he also won with newcomer Sweet Love ($21) and Tin’s Machine ($45).

The veteran Ipoh trainer fired the first salvo in the opening event, a RM22,000 Class 5A (1,200m) where Sweet Love, a former Macau two-time winner (when known as Blasting Power), scored an all-the-way win on debut, with Mohd Ekdihar in the saddle.

Tin’s Machine, who arrived in Malaysia as a maiden in 11 Kranji starts for David Kok, also led but had to dig deep to hold Adira Pegasus (Haris Pauzi) at bay by three parts of a length.

It was the Roc De Cambes eight-year-old’s sixth win in Malaysia but first for Lee, with his previous five wins coming for Wayne Lim.

Tin’s Machine was ridden by Lim Shung Uai, who became the hero of the Malaysian weekend, when he won the Group 1 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor on Cheval Blanc on Dec 1.

manyan@sph.com.sg