Platinum Emperor rules NZB Open Championship
Months of hard work and perseverance to get Platinum Emperor (NZ) (Sweynesse) in top shape again paid off for trainer Ricky Choi when the Sweynesse galloper overcame a wide passage early to win the RM300,000 NZB Open Championship (1400m) at Selangor racecourse in Malaysia on Saturday.
Platinum Emperor was bred by the late Kevin Hickman and sold from the draft of CH Bloodstock at the 2021 Karaka Yearling Sale to Hamish Auret who trained him to win a barrier trial before being sold to Macau.
In Macau he notched eight wins in 26 starts at Taipa then won three of his first starts in Malaysia last year and was the hot favourite for the Selangor Gold Cup but he mistrode, became unbalanced and dislodged his rider halfway in the race.
Platinum Emperor then spent four months on the sidelines to recover from muscles issues as a result of the fall and fortunately for Choi and Platinum Racing Stables, he came back in good shape this season, finishing on board in all his six runs – winning twice – prior to the race today.
With Benny Woodworth suspended and other top riders committed to the other trainers, Choi picked Oscar Chavez to ride the seven-year-old. It was their first ever partnership.
As it turned out, the Panamanian rode a gem of a race.
Platinum Emperor was caught wide early, but Chavez managed to settle in fourth spot, just behind Antipodean and on the outside of Lucky Magic.
Mega Ace maintained a cracking pace into the straight but at the 400m, Lucky Magic and Antipodean was just two lengths behind with another length to Platinum Emperor.
Platinum Emperor raced past them in a matter of strides and went on to win by 1-3/4 lengths with Antipodean battling on for second. Mega Power finished well to take third placing. Duma was fourth and Lucky Magic faded to finish sixth.
“After the heartache of the (Selangor) Gold Cup last year, he (Platinum Emperor) deserves this,” said Choi.
“We were so confident that he would win last year and had to start from scratch to get him into top shape.
“We gave him a lot of massages and care in the few months he was laid off and finally he is 100 percent again.
“I am targeting the Selangor Gold Cup on Sep 27 next and hopefully, we have better luck this time.”
“I wasn’t worried when caught wide early because he races better on the outside of horses,” said Chavez.
“I was in fact keeping an eye on Antipodean and I also saw that the horse in front were going at a very fast pace.
“When they started to come back to me at the 350m, I knew I was going to win.”
