Frank Maynard’s Sousui also impresses on the training track
As the country celebrated Malaysia's National Day, so did trainer Simon Dunderdale.
He tossed in three winners, a second and a third from the 12 races contested on Aug 31.
However, with Jason Ong posting a double on the day and getting on to 74 for the season, Dunderdale – on 34 wins – has still got a lot of reeling in to do.
On paper, he is still in the fight, and right now, as the 2025 season enters its final third, he holds second spot, 10 ahead of Richard Lines.
It is not yet over – especially that fight for second – and Dunderdale will be looking for another good haul at the meeting coming up on Sept 6.
He has 12 runners contesting the 12 races and, going strictly on the morning gallops of Sept 3, he could be looking for a good showing from China Pearl.
Down to contest Race 6, a Class 4 (B) sprint over the 1,275m, China Pearl ran the 600m in a fluent 41.2sec. That came after a spot of cantering and on a track which was rated good.
China Pearl knows what it feels like to win races. In a career which has seen him face the starter 13 times, the Ardrossan five-year-old has twice greeted the judge.
His first win came on Dec 30, 2023 when prepared by Donna Logan at Kranji and his second win was as recent as June 22.
That day, when partnered by Uzair Sharudin, he beat Road Of Tiger by a neck. That Class 5A race at Kuala Lumpur was over the short and sharp 1,150m.
China Pearl is nothing like Dunderdale's stable star Antipodean who lifted the Trinity Trophy on Aug 31.
But he is an honest sort of galloper who almost made it three wins from 12 when running second to Cheerful Baby on July 20.
However, at that last run on Aug 17 when sent off as the top pick, he finished sixth to Star North.
But, there were excuses. He was "tightened for room" at the 900m mark. That interference dashed his hopes.
Give him another chance. His work on the training track does suggest that he is in good enough condition to run a bold race, especially in the expert hands of Bernardo Pinheiro.
Flip the coin over and we have Frank Maynard. He had a really quiet meeting on Aug 31.
But he could well bounce back to his winning ways on Sept 6.
He has entered just four runners but he could be looking for a good run from Sousui who returned 38.7sec in the last 600m.
Already a seven-year-old, the son of Mikki Isle has more than paid for his keep at Maynard's yard where he has been housed since racing shut down at Kranji on Oct 5.
His first outing for Maynard was a winning one.
That day on Jan 12, Sousui beat Majestic Way by 1½ lengths. The race was run over the 1,300m and Sousui was ridden by apprentice Nazir Aiman.
His second win for Maynard came on Feb 23 when he held off a strong challenge from Pacific Star to score by a neck.
Sousui must be treated with respect over the 1,275m of a Class 4A race slated as Race 5 on Sept 6.
Later in the programme, in the 10th event, Red Dragon is worth some thought.
A 62-race veteran, the Redwood seven-year-old worked rather well when running the 600m in 37.5sec.
Like China Pearl, the eight-time winner did it after loosening up with a spot of cantering.
Red Dragon's last five runs going back to May 17 would have done little to inspire confidence but he could pop up at good odds.
On April 12, he took apart a Class 4 field over the 1,500m.
It is the same distance that he must navigate on Sept 6 and, should he get a spot in the starting line-up, an improved showing is expected from trainer Ooi Chin Chin's tried-and-tested galloper.
