LIM SET FOR A HAPPY WEEKEND

Singaporean trainer off to 2026 flier, keeps up with 2 trial winners

- Michael Lee

Mirroring the sparkling form shown by his runners early in the 2026 Malaysian season, Singaporean trainer Johnny Lim Boon Thong took two of the three barrier trials at his home base of Kuala Lumpur on Jan 20.

From the get-go, his four horses in Trial 1 and 3 signalled their intentions they would not be out to enjoy a day out in the morning sunlight at Sungai Besi.

Whether it was Banker's Natural and Banker's Master - both from the emerging Banker's Stable making up half of Lim's string of 60 horses in the opening hit-out or Mr Happy and Investor in the last one, the four Lim's were all scrubbed up early by their riders in search of a prominent position.

Only Banker's Master, a fouryear-old newcomer by All American, could not muster enough speed to stay at the top of the queue, eventually easing off among the rear to beat two home.

But such was not the case for his stablemate Banker's Natural who kept racing away from the chasing pack, clearly thriving on the positive riding tactics from apprentice jockey Farhan Ghazali.

Despite being an eight-year-old, the Medaglia d'Oro grey has not clocked up a lot of mileage under the hooves.

First known as Nozi Cyclone, he landed as a one-time winner at Cambridge (970m) from New Zealand back in 2021, but only had his first start for Lim three years later.

Even then, the sparingly-raced galloper had his runs spaced out.