Lim's Kosciuszko Continues Singapore Reign in Raffles Cup

Singapore’s Horse of the Year Lim's Kosciuszko (Kermadec) continues to stand head and shoulders above all others at Kranji, rolling to the 16th win of his 20-start career with another dominant performance in Saturday’s S$300,000 Raffles Cup (1600m).

Now a six-time winner at stakes level, Lim’s Kosciuszko has amassed S$1.87m in prize-money – the equivalent of around NZ$2.3m. He was offered by his breeders Trelawney Stud at Karaka 2019 and again at the Ready to Run Sale, but was passed in with reserves of $75,000 and $60,000 respectively.

On paper, the only way Lim's Kosciuszko’s all-conquering form could come under threat in the Raffles Cup was a nightmare run from his wide draw. But jockey Wong Chin Chuen quickly eliminated that possibility, sliding across to settle in a perfect position in fourth with cover.

Lim’s Kosciuszko was doing things effortlessly coming into the home straight and looked to have the race at his mercy from the moment his jockey pushed the button. He dashed to the front with 200 metres remaining, then was eased down through the final few strides to complete another easy win by a length and a quarter.

“Today he went as good as he ever did,” Wong said. “And from gate 11, it proves even more that the horse has so much ability himself and the confidence level is very high. He just went very good today.

“This horse knows what to do when he comes into the straight. When we get him out to daylight, he knows when to go.

“He will be hard to beat again in the Queen Elizabeth Cup (1800m). You can see from this horse now that he races well underneath the jockey and I think he will stay the trip.”

The Raffles Cup was the first leg of Singapore’s Triple Crown Series. The Queen Elizabeth Cup is the second leg on October 14, followed by the Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) on November 11.

Lim’s Kosciuszko is just one of a long list of black-type performers in recent years to come out of the Ready to Run Sale. The 2023 edition of the world’s leading sale of two-year-olds will be held at Karaka on November 22 and 23.