ANTIPODEAN SPEARHEADS GOLD BID FOR YOUNG GUNS

Old guard will be hard pushed to keep the Selangor Gold Cup off hungry go-getters

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In recent years, the big races have mostly been contested and won by much older horses in Malaysia.

Cheval Blanc, then eight, won the Group 1 Penang Gold Cup (2,000m) last December followed by the Group 1 Tunku Gold Cup (1,200m) in April.

Nine-year-old Trumpy won the Group 1 Perak Derby (2,000m) in April and Circuit Mission, eight, triumphed in the Group 1 Penang Sprint Trophy (1,400m) last July.

However, Kong Fu Panda halted the seniors' dominance when he bagged the Perak Gold Vase back in June. He was then five years old.

The trend could be bucked again at the RM200,000 (S$60,000) Group 1 Hygain Horse City Selangor Gold Cup (1,600m) at Sungei Besi on Sept 8.

The stage is set for a mouth-watering clash between the old and the new, with the two leading chances being young guns Antipodean and Golden Pegasus, the two main protagonists in the 2024 Selangor Turf Club (SLTC) three and four-year-old series respectively.

Antipodean's unbeaten run of seven consecutive wins might have ended last start, but the Derryn four-year-old will be one of the horses to beat, especially with Bernardo Pinheiro to partner him.