On a relatively quiet morning for trials at the Selangor Turf Club, several newcomers to Malaysian racing strutted their stuff and, in the process, impressed their connections.

Among the headturners were the likes of Easy On Me and Cool Man from the first trial on Sept 9.

Fortune Cookie, who took the second hit-out with some authority, also caught the eye.

Then, from the sand track, there was Bird Future, who is still winless for Ooi Chin Chin, and who finally won the first of six trials going back to April 9, 2024.

Despite the small numbers and just three trials, there were some nice showings on the track which was officially rated as yielding.

Taking off with Easy On Me, the four-year-old gave jockey Marc Lerner a sedan chair ride from the get-go.

Sure, the connections of second-placed runner Cool Man would beg to disagree. After all, Easy On Me eventually took the trial by just 1½ lengths.

But that was only because the French jockey switched off the engine from a long way out.

Yes, such was Easy On Me's dominance that Lerner eased him down over the final 100m, which allowed Cool Man to close in rapidly.

The son of Yes Yes Yes does not boast an impressive resume, though. He ran unplaced in both his starts in Queensland, Australia.

He came over in mid-2025 and has since been under the care of Aloysius Hamsha, Donna Logan's ex-B trainer, who has enjoyed a great start to his training career.

On the strength of his win at the trials – and he did the 1,000m trip in a respectable time of 1min 00.13sec – Easy On Me should be one to follow when he does start racing.

As for runner-up Cool Man, his trial was also commendable.

Indeed, the Denman five-year-old was doing his best work late and anyone at trackside would have seen him flying home at the finish. Another debutant from the in-form stables of Simon Dunderdale, he had Khaw Choon Kit doing the navigating.

Unlike Easy For Me, Cool Man knows how to win races.

Until being flown out to Malaysia, he raced in New South Wales in Australia where he picked up a win and a second from five starts.

That victory came in a 1,010m race at Murwillumbah on June 10, 2024 and the race summary had him holding the rails for most of the trip before driving through over the last 100m to clinch victory.

Later, on Jan 3, he finished second in a 1,100m race at Port Macquarie.

Yes, when he does start racing, Cool Man can inflict damage on his rivals.

Just for the record, Dunderdale also saddled the third-placed horse in the trial when Pantong (Troy See) held on well after always being in the slipstream of the eventual winner and runner-up.

In the second hit-out on Sept 9, Fortune Cookie – who was having an Official Race Trial – or an ORT – led from barrier to box. But unlike Easy On Me in the first jump-out, Fortune Cookie was pestered all the way by Kim Diamond, who was also having an ORT.

Indeed, at the 250m mark, the Richard Lines-trained Kim Diamond looked to have done enough to claim victory. But Fortune Cookie was not yet done.

Taking up the challenge, the gutsy filly gave chase, flew home and won going away by 1½ lengths.

Prepared by Charles Leck, Fortune Cookie is a three-year-old by El Roca. The trial was her first official appearance in Malaysia and, on the day, she was partnered by Clyde Leck.

Mark her down for future reference.

As for the runner-up, Kim Diamond, Lines would have been pleased with his performance.

A son of Hellbent, his early speed under a ride by Khairil Zulkiflee, would have impressed his handler and it might not be too long before we see him send his three-year-old to the races.

As for Bird Future, who won the one and only trial on sand, it was – for his connections – a moment to savour.

After all, in addition to having been to the trials five times before, the Wrote five-year-old raced nine times without success until Sept 9.

On the day, he came off second spot at the top of the straight to grab the goodies in a tight four-way finish, clocking 1:02.52 for the 1,000m, suggesting the lean spell may be over soon.