Moy’s Groovy salutes in easy fashion at inaugural Horse Owners Trophy

Groovy romped home in the RM50,000 (S$15,300) Horse Owners Trophy in Ipoh on Oct 4, a further testament to his consistency in Malaysia after crossing over from Singapore.

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Slated as Race 5 on the I-card meeting, the Class 4A event (1,300m) was named as the Horse Owners Trophy. The race was staged for the first time as a tribute to horse owners in Ipoh.

Now trained by Lawson Moy, Groovy won five races from 31 starts at Kranji when he was under the care of Richard Lim, who went on to race him in Ipoh for two placings from his first three starts in Malaysia.

The New Zealand six-year-old was then transferred to Moy, who saddled him to four consecutive placings — in Ipoh and Sungai Besi - before Groovy finally accounted for a smart Class 4A field (1,400m) at Sungai Besi on Aug 3.

The son of Swiss Ace had two more runs in Kuala Lumpur, but finished unplaced at his last start in a Supreme B race (1,600m) on Sept 14.

His return to Ipoh was a redemption for both horse and jockey Troy See, who was also his winning partner on Aug 3.

Drawn in gate 1, Groovy ($12) was one of fastest away in the 12-horse field, but See decided to take a sit when Starlight Glimmer (Shazmin Sudin) surged to the front on settling down.