12 September 2025, Kuala Lumpur

Group 1 racing is back with a bang this weekend on Sunday the 14th of September as the second leg of the Triple Crown Series takes place over 1600m in the form of the Hygain Horse City Selangor Gold Cup. There are also six trophy races that form part of the undercard including Malaysia Day Trophy; Horse City Trophy; Tabcorp Trophy; UK Stable (Thailand) Trophy; Melbourne Racing Club Trophy and the UPBH Platinum Club Trophy.

Race 3: Melbourne Racing Club Trophy 1400m

The first of the trophy races is quite an open race where a case can be made for a few runners but a chance is taken on Red Dragonfly from the CC Ooi stable to bounce back. He’s been freshened up for this run, draws barrier 4 and an eye catching jockey booking of R Shafiq to enhance his chances. He last ran in the 4YO Mile Championship against the likes of Antipodean; Good Star and Lucky Magic and wasn’t disgraced back in sixth. Back in Class 4 company, he could be worth an each way chance. (6-7-8-5)

Race 4: UPBH Platinum Club Trophy

Cheval Pegasus is proving to be quite difficult to follow and barrier 12 shouldn’t make things any easier. However, a replay of his last two runs shows he was well back in the field and simply had too much ground too make up in both starts. His last run he was heavily baulked for a run and it’s best to ignore that start. He’s off a winnable mark and can’t be ignored in this lineup reverting to the long course where hopefully he will have more time to work into the race. (3-6-7-9)

Race 5: Malaysia Day Trophy

Commander certainly looks like one of the standout horses on the day after two consecutive second placings when racing wide throughout. He’s drawn wide again but based on ability in this field, it’s hard to look past him and he’ll be looking for his fifth win in the country. He was only beaten by the talented Fright – who came out to break the course record last week – in his last start and trainer S Dunderdale looks to have placed him perfectly here. (3-11-4-2)

Race 6: Tabcorp Trophy

Noah Khan, G1 Tunku Gold Cup winner, is back after an impressive first up win four weeks ago when he was unwanted in the market. He was drawn in barrier 13, checked at the 500m and had to switch out and still managed to beat a G1 winner Filial Dragon by 0,75 lengths. Although he doesn’t have a great 2nd up record, he did manage to sneak in an impressive barrier trial win last week which would have kept him ticking over. He should fight it out with Pacific Vampire who will try and steal the race in front with front running tactics. (4-1-8-5)

Race 7: UK Stable (Thailand) Trophy

A lot of inexperienced runners in this field and an upset could be on the cards if any of the debutants are good enough. However, on form, Mega Crusader and Swey City Flyer look like they are the horses to beat. They both raced four weeks ago in the same race against the talented Storm To Finish where Mega Crusader finished second followed by Swey City Flyer in third. There was a gap of four lengths between the pair and there shouldn’t be a reason for the form to change. (6-12-3-2)

Race 8: G1 Hygain Horse City Selangor Gold Cup 

What a field that lines up for the second leg of the Triple Crown Series and all of Platinum Emperor; Antipodean, Lucky Magic and Good Star seem to be the primary contenders. However, Platinum Emperor has drawn the pole position in barrier 1 and has only lost once in the country from four starts when he finished third in the Tunku Gold Cup earlier this year. He stepped up to the mile for the first time in his last start and won going away by 2,5 lengths. He should have the run of the race under Lerner but it won’t be easy if any of Antipodean or Lucky Magic can overcome barriers 12 and 13 respectively. Defending champion, Antipodean has only missed the first three once in his career and comes off the back of a courageous win in the Trinity Cup a fortnight ago. Meanwhile Lucky Magic has been freshened up for this run after his win in the 4YO Mile Championship beating Antipodean and Good Star. Good Star meanwhile has had quite the campaign so far, but showed no signs of slowing down when he won the Merdeka Cup despite racing wide throughout. A brilliant race which will undoubtedly have an exciting finish. (2-1-5-13)

Race 9: Horse City Trophy

The last of the feature races and Graphjet Express looks hard to beat. He came from well back in the field to only be beaten in second by 1,5 lengths over 1400m. He now steps up to the mile from barrier 5 with Championship leading jockey AL Da Silva in the saddle once again, and with the extra 200m it should give him enough time to cut back the deficit on the leaders. (6-10-12-3)

That’s the preview of the Cup and Trophy races for this Sunday with eleven races on the card with the first race off at 12:45pm local time. 

Devon Pretorius