BIG UNION POSTS 1ST M’SIAN WIN IN S'PORE POOLS TROPHY

After slow start up north, promising Kranji five-time winner finally hits his straps in KL

- Michael Lee

Both the hype and patience were wearing thin, but Big Union has suddenly woken up to finally open his Malaysian account in the Singapore Pools Trophy (1,200m) in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 7.

Long hailed at Kranji as the “Big” horse who could really make it big for trainer Jerome Tan one day, the five-year-old had not quite lived up to the lofty tag in 13 starts up north since the Singapore racing shutdown in October 2024.

The Cat Racing Stable’s - known for naming most of their horses with the Big prefix — strong finisher is better remembered during his former racing career for his purple patch of form of five wins in six starts between June and September 2024.

The only blot to his copybook came at his last start in the Singapore Gold Cup on Kranji’s farewell day, simply because he did not stay the 2,000m journey.

Hopes were still high he could bounce back over more suitable trips at his second career across the Causeway, but the results had been mixed, albeit without the old flashes of brilliance having completely gone missing.