KOK OFF KL STARTING BLOCKS IN A HURRY

No respite for Spore Gold Cup hero, who saddles first M’sian runners this weekend

- Michael Lee

The gold dust from his historic win on Oct 5 has barely settled and trainer David Kok is already back in business.

After Smart Star's sensational Group 1 Grand Singapore Gold Cup (2,000m) win gave Kok a most surreal fairy-tale ending to his 16-year training career at Kranji, he was back entitled to take it all in and give himself a well-earned breather.

Besides, he had all along declared that his starting date at the next chapter of his training career in Kuala Lumpur would be somewhere around mid-November.

Relocating 45 horses is no mean feat, even for just a 350km trip over land. By working in the two-week quarantine and other logistical factors, it seemed like a fair lead time.

To the surprise of many, the "D Kok" name popped up five times on the Selangor Turf Club double weekend programme.

There was no pressing need to strike while the iron is hot. The Malaysian season is drawing to an end with the only big race left, the Piala Emas Sultan Selangor (2,000m) still some time away on Dec 1.

Interestingly, all five runners hail from the Pacific Stable - Pacific Charm, Pacific Hero and Pacific Dream on Oct 26, and Pacific Spirit

and Pacific Scout on Oct 27.