Wayne Lim has a dream team for Piala Emas

There is a big one coming up at the Selangor Turf Club on Dec 1 and trainer Lim Woei Chet – or Wayne Lim as he is more popularly known in racing circles – looks like he has the ammunition necessary to make a killing.

He has entered a team of three runners for the third leg of the Malaysian Group 1 Triple Crown Series – the RM250,000 (S$ 75,400) Group 1 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor (2,000m) and all three – Dream Alliance, Mega Gems and Golden Pegasus – galloped on Nov 26.

Former Kranji stalwart Dream Alliance clocked 43.6sec in his leisurely hit-out, as did Golden Pegasus who was timed at 40.4sec.

The swiftest of the trio – and most impressive of the lot – was Mega Gems who tossed in a serious gallop, clocking 37sec for the 600m on a track rated good.

Lim would have been mighty pleased with all three of them, especially that smart show from Mega Gems.

True to his name, Mega Gems was shining bright.

Winner of the Group 1 Kawan ESG Coronation Cup at Ipoh on Nov 3, Mega Gems won that last start in fine fashion, coming from near last when the field straightened for the home run, to win going away over the 1,600m in 1min 34.98sec.

That was his first time over a bit of distance and he passed that test with flying colours.

On Dec 1, Mega Gems, Dream Alliance and Golden Pegasus will have to last it out over the gruelling 2,000m.

It is a tricky distance to negotiate. It is either you have it or you do not and many times we have seen big hopes fall flat over the concluding stages of the testing 2,000m.

That said, one horse who has “been there and done that” is Dream Alliance.

A four-time winner when under the care of Tim Fitzsimmons at Kranji, Dream Alliance’s four wins were all over the shorter trips of 1,400m.

But, as the son of Into Mischief grew older, he also grew in the stamina department. His last half a dozen runs or so have all been over the mile and beyond.

Indeed, he is no stranger to the 2,000m slog. He has done it twice and, on both occasions, in the Group 1 Singapore Gold Cup (2023 and 2024) was not disgraced.

In 2023, with Bruno Queiroz up, he even headed Lim’s Kosciuszko as he came down the middle of the track with a sustained run, but Daniel Meagher’s champion bravely clawed his way back.

In 2024, at that history-making last-ever Singapore Gold Cup on Oct 5, Dream Alliance did not come as agonisingly close, but again made the board, finishing fourth behind Smart Star.

Yes, Dream Alliance, who will still carry the colours of the Legacy Power Racing Stable, is the real deal over this “Gold Cup” trip.

As for Golden Pegasus, the big race coming up will be his first foray into a staying event, but there is no reason why he cannot see out the trip.

It was on Aug 10 that he scored the last of his six wins. It was over the Sungai Besi mile and since then he has added money to the kitty for finishing second on Sept 8 and 27. Those were races over the 1,600m and 1,700m trips.

The additional distance he has to cover in the Piala Emas Sultan Selangor coming up should not be cause for worry.

Yes, as of now, Lim seems to have a golden trifecta. He will be hoping his talented trio will bring their track form to the races.

Outside of that Malaysian Group 1 contest, the Class 3 sprint over the 1,400m could turn out to be a mighty interesting contest.

Out there on the training track, Misty Swift and Trigger Pegasus tossed their hats into the ring when they turned in winning workouts.

Misty Swift clocked 38sec for the 600m while Trigger Pegasus went over the same distance in 39.2sec.

A six-year-old by Reliable Man, Misty Swift was disappointing in his last three starts for Ananthen Kuppan but he won two good trials in October and that training gallop on Nov 26 could have smoothened out the rough edges.

As for Trigger Pegasus, he will get into the contest on the back of a photo-finish second in his last start on Nov 9.

That day, in a similar race at the Penang Turf Club, the Nick Selvan-trained Deep Field six-year-old ran a close second to Xena.

He, too, will benefit from that recent 600m sprint and it will not surprise anyone to see him fight out the finish with Misty Swift.

 

brian@sph.com.sg