TOP SHOWING: Vigi Bolong returning to scales on Princess Amanda. The four-year-old has been promoted to Class One after scoring an easy win last Sunday.
KUCHING: Only one runner has been promoted after the first day of the new racing season last Sunday.
Princess Amanda has earned her place in Class One with a runaway win in Class Two over 1200M on the first weekend.
A raging favourite in the race, the brown mare quickly strode to the front from a smart jump out of the gates and started breaking away on settling down. The four-year-old kicked clear past the 400M mark and was travelling so well thereafter that she was having the race all to herself.
Shouted the winner a long way out, Princess Amanda was hardly extended as she gave visiting Sabahan jockey Vigi Bolong an armchair ride to the finish. A long second was Naga Mas (K Jasmi) with Aries (B Mazlan) third 7 1/2 lengths further back.
Princess Amanda’s promotion will narrow the disparity in standard among the runners in Class One. Her upgrading is a positive move as it will make the competition closer and the race more interesting to watch.
Allotted 60kg on the second weekend (Feb 19), the still improving galloper should be able hold her own in her top class debut. Will she snap the six-race winning streak of the unbeaten Rhodium? Race goers are certainly looking forward to a close duel between the two.
Riding prowess
Good jockeyship was on show during the first weekend when Vigi Bolong, a top rider from the Royal Sabah Turf Club, stole the thunder of the local riders by booting home three winners in as many rides.
Vigi has good judgement of pace and he showed this in his handling of Rhodium. The five-year-old won all his previous starts from the front but last week, he came from midfield to score his sixth straight win. And Vigi saw to it. Instead of making the early break, Vigi conserved the grey, racing just off the pace set by Augustus (Osman Putit). The cool Sabahan rider kept Rhodium within striking distance of the leader coming into the home straight although he could easily have moved to the front much earlier. He only made his move past the 300M mark, launching Rhodium past Augustus in a zip to win drawing away.
Vigi’s also showed superior jockeyship on his two other winners – Princess Alicia in Race Three (Class III – 1200M) and Princess Amanda in Race Four (Class II – 1200M). He made their victories look so smooth.
Astride the two odds-on favourites, he could have adopted gung ho tactics by throwing caution to the wind in the early stages but kept his composure instead, making sure he wasn’t unduly overtaxing his mounts, doing just enough to win both races which were theirs for the taking in the first place.
He did not freeze when Princess Alicia came under pressure from Raja Muda in the final 200M but rode a cool race to keep the challenger at bay. That’s the hallmark of a good jockey.
True, the Sabahan had three outstanding rides which would still have prevailed with different jockeys in the saddle but compared to most of the local riders, his horsemanship clearly shone through.
Two local riders worthy of mention in the same breath are Jasmi Kamar and champion jockey Osman Putit, not forgetting, of course, Roslan Bujang, who rode with success on the local turf before joining the stables of MRA champion trainer Kevin Coetzee as a riding boy.
It is understood Roslan has been cleared to ride this weekend. His return will give the dwindling number of jockeys here a welcome boost.