KUALA LUMPUR, 25 OCTOBR 2024

Racing returns to the Selangor Turf Club this weekend for a double header of race meetings over the course of Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th of October. Seventeen races are split with eight on Saturday and the remainder being filled on Sunday with some eye-catching runners that standout.

The general consensus as to where the best bet on the card from the analysts may lie, falls in race 6 as the unbeaten WITNESSIMPACT steps out for his fifth local start in Malaysia and this is without a doubt his toughest task yet. He won with plenty in hand in his last start and almost won in a canter. He has plenty of natural gate speed and was a bit of a surprise to see him being outpaced in the early stages of the race with a blistering pace being set up front. However, he was able to settle back a few lengths when turning for home and won like a horse that is full of class and has proven that he can adapt to different running styles. His biggest danger should be the highest rated horse in Malaysia, and stable companion, Awesome Storm who is weighted to win on paper. It should make for a great race and will truly test the ability of this talented Australian galloper. 

Another runner to look out for on Saturday has to be SACRED SKY in race 7. He finished second on his local debut in Malaysia behind One Abracadabra – who has won back-to-back races – but he had no luck in running from a wide gate, raced wide throughout and still ran on to only be beaten by a head. Watch the replay of that run here.

Sunday’s race card isn’t the easiest to assess as there are a few young horses coming through with plenty of scope for improvement and it can cause an upset on the cards. Race 6 is the TBC GAMEFI CLUB TROPHY and looking at this race with horses like BOLD RUNNER; DUMA and YES MAN it should certainly make for an exciting clash with these three-year-olds. However, I think there could be value about STRONG WHITE who has to receive weight from the fancied runners. On paper, he is held by Bold Runner from the run on the 22/09/2024 but the rate at which this horse is improving has to be noted and he had no right to finish runner up in his last start where he avoided a jockey who fell early in the race, had over 15 lengths to make up turning for home and ran on to only be beaten by a length. He was incredibly green in that run as well, but when the penny drops for him and he starts to learn what racing is all about, he can be one to follow. Watch the replay of his last start here.

The best bet on Sunday’s card can come in race 2 with BIG BAD MAMA who was caught on the line in his last start. This is a weaker field that he meets here and he should be the one they all have to beat. INFINITY GLORY in race 8 should take some beating but respect the chances of BOY XANDER who was only beaten by Witnessimpact on his local debut run when setting a hot pace and only faded in the final 100m. He now drops in trip to 1020m and has a perfect draw of barrier three. 

Devon Pretorius