Trainer David Kok was all pumped after Pacific Energy duly saluted in the RM200,000 (S$63,200) 4YO Sprint Championship (1,200m) at Sungai Besi on June 28. The son of Super Seth, who won four Class 3 races over 1,200m and 1,300m previously, finished third behind Fortune Tree in the Group 1 Tunku Gold Cup (1,200m) on March 29 in his first big test. Even though Pacific Energy had to face Fortune Tree and Tunku Gold Cup runner-up Duma again in the feature assignment for four-year-olds, Kok
was full of confidence before the race. “I was not worried about them at all,” said the Singaporean handler. “From the first day, I knew he has ability and can become a Group horse one day, but he’s also a difficult horse to ride. “When Jordan Mallyon rode him in the Gold Cup, he settled him too far behind when we wanted him in midfield, so he flew home too late to finish a neck behind the winner. “Last start, when SU (Shung Uai) Lim
rode him for the first time (in the Mitavite Asia Cup over 1,100m), he also finished a neck in second. “But Jerlyn knows him very well and has won on all of his four races previously, so I was very confident when the owner (Pacific Stable) agreed to put her on this time. “With the good barrier this time, I told her not to worry, be more confident and to ride him like the best horse.” Jumping swiftly from barrier 2, Pacific Energy (Jerlyn Seow
Poh Hui) settled patiently in fifth on the rails with Rizzler (Cheng Han Kok) sitting in fourth on his outside. Fortune Tree (Jose de Souza), Campionessa (Lim Shung Uai) and Banker’s Dream (Farhan Ghazali) were vying for the lead, before the Winson Cheng Han Yong-trained Fortune Tree eventually took up the bunny’s role rounding the bend. Seow was careful not to let her rivals get away. She slipped the reins on the New Zealand-bred, allowing him to creep closer in third behind Fortune Tree and
Campionessa as they turned for home. At the 400m, the Frank Maynard-trained mare Campionessa began to fade away, and Pacific Energy got off from the paint to give chase behind Fortune Tree. Under hard riding from Seow, it did not take long for Pacific Energy ($22) to turn the tables on Fortune Tree in the final 100m as he sprinted away to a 1¼-length win. Banker’s Two Six finished another length away in third, while Duma (Bernardo Pinheiro) was not disgraced when he flew home
from second-last to take fourth. The winning time was 1min 10.99sec for the 1,200m on the short course. Kok, who endured a short winless drought since his last winner Lucky Warrior on May 24, praised Seow for her ride. He also said the four-year-old gelding will be nominated in Kuala Lumpur’s richest race, the RM 1 million Selangor Mile (1,600m), on July 26 following his fifth and latest victory, albeit Pacific Energy has not ventured beyond the 1,300m. “She rode him very well. We expected
the pace to be fast, so I told her to jump positive and sit him behind the leaders,” said Kok. “The owners want him to run in the Selangor Mile because he will be their only runner in the feature race. Jerlyn should be riding him. “It’s nice to get a winner. It’s been quieter for me because there are currently some injured horses in my yard, and we also have 12 new horses still getting ready for the races.” Seow was equally happy after
the win. “We were expecting him to win,” said the Singaporean jockey. “I was only slightly worried about Fortune Tree, but we had a comfortable and handy position, so I knew I was going to win in the straight. “He should be okay going beyond 1,300m.” One race earlier, the Simon Dunderdale-trained Antipodean ($19) returned to winning ways in the RM100,000 A Plus Cup (1,600m) with jockey Bernardo Pinheiro in the saddle. The 2024 Group 1 Selangor Gold Cup (1,600m) winner last scored in the
NZB Ready To Run Open Championship (1,400m) – also ridden by the Brazilian hoop – on Oct 12, 2025. The Derryn five-year-old gelding sat in fourth on the rails, before holding off Omniarch (de Souza) by a neck in the straight to land the Metro A contest. Pinheiro was in red-hot form, pulling off a four-timer. Besides Antipodean, he booted home three other winners in Tommy Gun ($15), Defeater ($12) and Mental ($18) at the 12-race meeting.
Pacific Energy, 4YO Sprint Championship, Sungai Besi, Jerlyn Seow Poh Hui, David Kok, Fortune Tree, Duma, Selangor Mile, RM200,000, RM1 million