Hidden Dream pulls off surprise Gold Cup victory
KOTA KINABALU: Hidden Dream was crowned the Royal Sabah Turf Club (RSTC) Gold Cup race winner at the Tambalang Race Course in Tuaran yesterday.
Cheered on by the watching owner Hj Awang Shamsi, Hidden Gem jockeyed by Ajiri galloped to the finish line to score an upset victory over the early favourites in the main race of the day.
Classic Head, owned by Annuar Sha Latip, finished second in the 1,900m race on a turf track for Class III horses.
May (Solid Stable) and Honeyta (Andy Lim), two of the early favourites, finished third and fourth respectively in the race with 12 starters.
Hidden Dream bagged RM28,000 from the total stake money of RM52,300, followed by RM10,000 for the runner-up, RM5,000 for the second runner-up and RM2,500 for the third runner-up.
Another highly anticipated event yesterday was the Silver Premier Stakes for Class I horses, which saw Pop justify its pre-race tag as among the top contenders to clinch the top podium finish.
The Solid Stable-owned Pop jockeyed by Md Sairie edged the hot favourite Athena and fellow top contender Send Me The Money to second and third place respectively while Hong Kong Princess was fourth.
A total of nine candidates started the race where total stake money of RM43,700 was up for grabs.
The winner bagged RM24,000, followed by RM8,000, RM4,000 and RM2,100 for the next three finishers.
For the record, the two races were among four held on the day.
Alan Thien, special officer to the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing, alongside RSTC chairman Datuk Peter Chin and the management presented the prizes to the winners.