Duma (NZ) Dominant in NZB Ready to Run Graduate Cup

The Selangor Turf Club has teamed up with NZB to establish a series of races that incentivise purchasing from the world-leading Ready to Run Sale at Karaka. Rising star Duma (NZ) (Too Darn Hot) landed the first of those lucrative prizes for 2025 with a commanding performance on Sunday.

Duma went into the RM150,000 Ready to Run Graduate Cup (1400m) as one of the leading contenders in the 12-horse field, having recorded two wins and two placings from his five previous career starts. He produced a performance on Sunday that well and truly lived up to those high expectations.

Jockey Nuqman Rozi settled Duma in midfield and was checked when the pace slackened heading down the back of the track, but the three-year-old gelding later settled into a smooth rhythm in sixth down on the inside.

A gap opened up along the rail at the home turn and Nuqman drove Duma through it. The favourite changed gears and powered clear, opening up a winning margin of three and three-quarter lengths.

Duma was bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds and was offered by Prima Park at the 2023 Ready to Run Sale, where Esther Quan Hui Lim bought him for $45,000. His six-start career has now produced three wins, two seconds and more than RM150,000, which is the equivalent of over NZ$60,000.

Duma is trained by Frank Maynard, who also saddled Sunday’s runner-up Trees Of Valinor (NZ) (Telperion).

The second race in Selangor’s series of Ready to Run graduate races is the NZB Ready to Run Open Championship, which will be run for a stake of RM300,000 on 2 November 2025.

NZB's 2025 Ready to Run Sale will take place on 13 and 14 November at Karaka while the Breeze Ups are scheduled for 13 and 14 October at Te Rapa Racecourse.