KUALA LUMPUR:  Feb 6, 2022

Throughout his career, trainer Tiang Kim Choi has been known to seek out horses at the sale for his owners every now and then.

Even though he could not be physically present at the New Zealand Ready To Run Sale in November 2020 due to the pandemic, there was one horse that caught his eyes on paper.

“You can view the catalogue online, review the bloodlines and ask the sales person for more details,” said Tiang. Videos are available for potential buyers to browse through nowadays.

The New Zealand Ready To Run Sale has always been a favourite sale for owners and trainers in Malaysia and Singapore over the years.

Tiang successfully bidded NZ$38,000 for the bay gelding by Showcasing out of Hermitage and the horse was flown out to Malaysia two months later and named after the popular films Kong Fu Panda.

On the race track, KONG FU PANDA has been flexing his muscles. He was only a two-year-old when he won an Open Maiden event over 1100m at Sungei Besi  in his debut last May, just before racing took an enforced break.

After the resumption of racing, the three-year-old won again in Class 4 over 1250m  Then came a disappointing fourth (when odds-on favourite) and a tame third placing (again starting favourite) before he bounced back.

A runaway three-length win here three weeks ago was followed up by another superb display in a Class 4 – 1100m handicap today. 

Starting odds-on (RM7) again, KONG FU PANDA never gave his backers any anxious moment as he made all the running to win by 2 3/4 lengths.

“He’s got great potential as a sprinter,” said Tiang.

KONG FU PANDA is a full brother to AWESOME, a winner of six races from 1000m to 1200m in Singapore, and a half-brother to ELUSIVE GENIUS, who notched eight wins from 1200m to 1600m in both Malaysia and Singapore. Both are retired.

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