3 minute read
Local trainer Leslie Khoo is known for coming up with some offbeat ideas, and this time, it’s with a touch of sentimentalism that he booked jockey Koh Teck Huat on Unconquered in the $50,000 Class 4 Division 1 race over 1200m on Sunday.
It was nothing that was too out of the box, but just a little anecdote he had kept at the back of his mind after the I Am Invincible eight-year-old's last outing.
Unconquered was fourth across the line with first-time partner Koh up in a Class 4 race over 1200m on April 18, but was promoted to third after the Mark Walker-trained Exdream was disqualified to last when his rider Hakim Kamaruddin weighed in light.
Such trivia might slip under the radar of most, but not Khoo. He could have been concerned Koh was the only jockey left not to have opened his 2021 account, but to be the rider of the horse who made it for the tierce through a shot of pure luck was a better omen.
"TH was very lucky when they got third place after the Walker horse was disqualified. I thought maybe he has the luck with this horse, and that's why I booked him again today," said the former top jockey.
"But he actually rode the horse very well as well, and he's again given him a very good ride today. I told him this horse has to go forward.
"The wide barrier (10) put me off but as he is a frontrunner, there is no other choice. There weren't many speed horses, so I told TH he must try and come across and lead.
"He's a decent horse in Class 4. They were coming at him, but he hung in till the end."
Koh, whose last winner for Khoo was Peregrine Falcon more than three years ago on April 22, 2018, was delighted he had got the monkey off his back.
"I'm very happy I finally got a winner. It's so hard to get a winner these days," he said.
"This horse has been working well since his last start. He's improved a lot.
"From the wide draw, I had no other choice but to go forward or we would get caught wide. There weren't many speed horses in the race and I was confident I could come across."
Turning for home, Unconquered ($32) still held sway by a comfortable margin, but Koh soon had the looming shadow of a familiar horse, The Wild Bunch (Oscar Chavez), a horse he has always ridden until Sunday, cast onto the Polytrack.
Strong N Best (Juan Paul van der Merwe) was also finishing like a mail train on the inside, but Unconquered did just that: He was down but not out. Strong N Best fell short by a neck with The Wild Bunch boxing on for third place another half-length away.
The winning time was 1min 11.27secs for the 1200m on Polytrack.
Unconquered used to be a horse owned by famous Kiwi trainer Graeme Rogerson (who prepared 2003 Golden Slipper winner Polar Success, ridden by Danny Beasley), but has now recorded his first win for the S Eleven No 2 Stable. All up, he has racked up in excess of $240,000 in stakes earnings.
