Suspicious Mind shows good toe in training

His last run on Sept 29 was not too shabby. Sure, he finished only fourth in that Class 4 1,400m race won by Burgundy Bubbles. But, in fairness, Suspicious Mind had been dealt a bad hand.

First, he had to overcome a draw (gate 12) which left him in one of the outside gates in the 12-horse contest in Ipoh.

Then, when the race got underway, he had to fashion a run through a bunch of horses.

And when his rider, Suriya Arunsalam, finally managed to extricate him from the pack, his blistering finish just was not enough to secure him a spot in the top three.

Still, it was a good effort and his trainer, Ipoh-based Shanmugam Subramaniam, has kept him on his toes, hoping fully well that he holds on to the last-start form.

Well, his conditioner has done a good job, as was evident from his work ahead of the Perak Turf Club meeting on Oct 20.

Sent out for a gallop over the 600m, the Duporth gelding stopped the clock at 38sec.

Suspicious Mind has had 24 starts for two wins, nine seconds and four thirds.

That last victory on Dec 17, 2023, came over the Ipoh mile.

Since then, his connections have raced him seven times in Class 4 for three seconds (twice over 1,300m and once over 1,200m). All his runs were at the Perak Turf Club racecourse.

The seven-year-old Australian-bred warrants support when he steps out in the Class 4A 1,300m event on Oct 20 – and make him one of your better bets on the 10-race programme.

When it is racing in Ipoh, trainer Stephen Cook is the go-to man when racegoers are in search of winners.

Sure, he is a big man – but he has a lean and mean team of horses.

Once again, Cook has assembled a competent squad of nine for the Oct 20 meeting and, on the strength of their workouts on Oct 15, we should see one of Ipoh’s most prominent racing identities posing proudly for the cameras at the winner’s circle.

He was a huge presence at the training track on Oct 15 and two of his gallopers – Gold Eighty-Three and Diamond Pegasus – would have earned the thumbs-up from those at trackside.

Taking off from deep in the back straight, Gold Eighty-Three gobbled up the 600m easily in 38sec.

He was a good thing beaten three starts back on Aug 25 when second to Golden Show over the Ipoh 1,000m.

The eight-year-old Dissident gelding, a six-time winner from 56 starts, then turned in two unplaced efforts over the Ipoh 1,300m and 1,400m in September.

Cook has chosen a winnable sort of race for his charge and, come Oct 20, Gold Eighty-Three will feel right at home over the shorter 1,100m.

Right now, he is a reserve in the capacity 12-horse field. Should he get to face the starter in the Class 5A event, he could be the one charging home to collar the front runners.

As for Diamond Pegasus, she is overdue for a win.

The seven-year-old Tavistock mare, who has four wins from 49 starts, showed up nicely in her training gallop, covering the 600m in 40sec.

The Class 5 galloper last won over the Ipoh 1,400m on April 7 and has had eight subsequent outings since for only a third over 1,200m, under a strong ride by jockey Oscar Chavez, in Penang on July 28.

She is the second reserve in the Class 5B 1,300m event on Oct 20. Should she secure a berth in the 12-horse field, she could turn on the charm with only 52.5kg on her back.

However, looming large in that same race will be Yulong Dream.

He showed good action in his training gallop, clocking 37.3sec for the 600m.

From trainer Kevin Coetzee’s yard, Yulong Dream has not won since Aug 13, 2023.

It has been a long time between drinks for the Oasis Dream nine-year-old but he has been turning in some good results from his recent runs.

The Irish-bred gelding’s most recent outing, over the Ipoh 1,400m on Sept 29, produced a second-placed finish.

That day, when ridden by Harmeet Singh Gill, he tried to lead all the way but went down by 1½ lengths to Another Show.

He may be getting long in the tooth, but Yulong Dream still has plenty of bite.

 

brian@sph.com.sg