Jason Ong is slowly starting to hit his straps.

Two winners – Pacific Padrino and Pacific Victory – over the last two days of racing on Jan 31 and Feb 2 may be a far cry from the days he scooped up winners in spades during his two premiership-winning seasons (2023 and 2024) in Singapore.

But make no mistake about it, Ong is only just revving up the engines at his new hunting ground in Malaysia.

Right now, his numbers since his debut on Nov 26 read 35 starters, four wins, three seconds and three thirds.

Well, we know how fast numbers can change and, in Ong’s case, we should soon see them change for the better.

The stable was well represented at the trials at the Selangor Turf Club on Feb 4 and, true to form, Ong came away with a good haul of three wins, two seconds and a third.

Yes, his horses are beginning to fire and his three winners at the trials could soon be winning races in their adopted country.

In the opening hit-out of the morning, Ong’s runner, Major King, took third, losing narrowly to second-placed Renzo and the Mahadi Taib-trained and aptly-named winner, Good Start (Saifudin Ismail) whose time of 1min 0.36sec for the 1,000m turned out to be the swiftest of the morning.

Ong went into the third trial with two runners – The Wild Hero and War Star – and it turned out to be a one-horse trial with War Star (Shafiq Rizuan) running away to win by five lengths. The Wild Hero took fourth.

Super Bowl, Ong’s runner in the fourth, found one to beat, losing out to the Richard Lim-trained Fortune Wheel (Lim Aun Kean) who ran out the trip in 1min 01.73sec.

But it was all business in the fifth and sixth trials with Ong’s horses – Cheval Pegasus and Outfit – scoring fighting wins.

Yes, Ong would have been pleased. It was a good morning at Sungai Besi and we wait to see his horses carry their form to the races.

War Star, in particular, should soon be bringing in the money for his connections.

For a four-year-old, the son of Super One has done more than what some horses do in a lifetime.

He has won six races. He has been second twice, and so far, he has three third placings to his name.

The out-and-out sprinter has scored all his six wins over the short and sharp trips of 1,100m and 1,200m.

He has yet to show up in a race at the Selangor Turf Club, but now that the rough edges have been ironed out, we should soon see him in flowing action.

Cheval Pegasus, who, like War Star, was having “barrier practice”, would have impressed those taking in the action from trackside.

Here is how it panned out. Jumping cleanly, he was snagged back to sit fifth when the field made that sweeping turn on the far side.

With 500m to travel, jockey Andre da Silva – prominent in those baby blue silks – asked him for an effort and he quickly put himself into the fray.

Spurred on and racing on the extreme outside of the pack, Cheval Pegasus had the lead 150m out and he stayed there to take the trial by a neck.

The Flying Artie three-year-old clocked 1min 01.65sec, which was commendable considering he was not asked to do much over the initial 500m of the trial.

Cheval Pegasus’ last race was at Kranji on Sept 28.

That day, under Bruno Queiroz, he finished fourth behind the winner, Lim’s Shavano.

Right now, Cheval Pegasus looks to be running into a rich vein of form. Watch him when he makes his Malaysian debut.

Outfit, Ong’s third winner on the day, has “been there and done that”.

He has, to date, won five races and his most recent trial was a huge improvement from that first one on Jan 21 when he finished eighth of nine runners and far away from the winner, Surfing Cloud.

A six-year-old New Zealand-bred by Turn Me Loose, Outfit scored his last win on July 21, 2024. Since then, he has had five unplaced outings.

Do not hold it against him.

Outfit is way better than that, and when Ong does send him to the races, do not be surprised to see him turn in a winning show.

Like his master, he is only just revving up those engines.

Source: Brian Miller