Pack of three stand out in KL

Fast gallops at Sungai Besi were the order of the day when runners for the Selangor Turf Club’s meeting on Oct 4 turned up for their morning workouts on Sept 29.

On a track rated “good”, three runners were outstanding: Banker’s Super, Mega Storm and Trident Rising.

From trainer Johnny Lim Boon Thong’s stables, Banker’s Super ran out the 600m in 35.8sec.

Mega Storm, trained by Jason Lim, was not to be outdone. With Oscar Chavez doing the steering, he negotiated the 600m in 35.9sec.

Trident Rising was equally impressive when covering the distance in 36.2sec.

Banker’s Super, who will see action in the Class 3 race (1,500m), looks up to the task despite the tricky distance.

The Churchill five-year-old has been knocking on the door.

In five starts for the Banker’s Stable, his best result was a second in a Class 4A event (1,600m) on April 18 when he went down by a nose to Astro Nascente.

At his next start in a Class 4A contest (1,500m) on May 5, he was heavily backed but could only manage fourth.

Banker’s Super is better than that. Before being flown to Malaysia, the Australian-bred was known as Casablanca and won two races over 1,500m and 1,600m Down Under.

With that strong gallop under his belt, he can break through for his first Malaysian win.

On the other hand, Mega Storm has already won two from eight starts in Kuala Lumpur, both times when he was known as Storm Pegasus and under the care of Ananthen Kuppan.

The Belardo five-year-old gelding opened his Malaysian account in an Open Maiden race (1,200m) on Dec 15, 2024.

He took a long break before winning first-up in a Class 4B race (1,150m) on Jan 4, 2025.

He almost made it two on the trot but he went down by a nose to Atlante Legend at his next start in a Class 4A contest (1,200m).

Mega Storm has raced just once for Lim but was unplaced in the Class 4 event (1,200m) on Sept 5. However, he won three trials before that run.

The Mega Captain Stable-owned gelding is an enigma, but Lim seems to have found him a suitable race in the Class 4 race (1,150m). So, keep him on your shortlist of horses to follow.

Another one to watch is Trident Rising.

Trained by Cheng Han Yong, the son of Hello Youmzain scored an impressive win on debut, beating a smart Class 3 field by 1¼ lengths over the 1,200m.

That was on Sept 13 when he led from pillar to post under Troy See.

The Tridentity Stable-owned four-year-old carried 56kg then, and he lines up in the Class 3 race (1,200m) with 59kg on his back.

It looks like a big step-up but Trident Rising is a big horse who tips the scales in the 530kg region.

On the strength of that last-start win and his gallop on Sept 29, Trident Rising should easily handle the extra three kilograms.