After a three-year absence from the Malaysian turf calendar, the prestigious 2000m G1 Penang Gold Cup returns this Saturday. This year’s edition features multiple Group One winners, including GOLDEN PAYOUT, which secured Selangor’s premier staying race, the 2000m Piala Emas Sultan Selangor, earlier this month.
The five-year-old appears to be the testing material based on current form. TOP KNIGHT leads the Group One tally with three victories, including the Singapore Guineas, Derby, and a QEII Cup during the 2020 season. Despite failing to recapture that form in six starts since crossing the causeway, the eight-year-old is a proven stayer, and a significant improvement would not be surprising.
OZZY STAR, winner of the 2019 Singapore Derby, has finished unplaced in eight local runs but displayed a glimpse of better form with a last-start fourth behind GOLDEN PAYOUT in the Piala Emas.
BLACK THORN was denied his first Group victory the last time this race was held in 2019, being demoted to third place following an objection. The ten-year-old eventually tasted Group One success in the Selangor Gold Cup last year and recently placed in the Coronation Cup.
Trainer Frank Maynard, a four-time winner of this race, will have a four-pronged attack this year, including the locally unbeaten CHEVAL BLANC and LEOPARD ECLIPSE, both of which have placed in two Group Ones this season. Both runners are on a six-day backup and have been finely tuned for a promising performance in Penang’s premier staying contest.
