Indonesia
English
Follow
SARGA.CO – Who among you witnessed the fierce and thrilling duel in the prestigious Star of Stars – 2,200 Meter class at Indonesia’s Horse Racing (IHR) 59th PORDASI National Horse Racing Championship Series II 2025 on October 19, 2025?
Spectators at the Sultan Agung Horse Racing Course, Special Region of Yogyakarta, seemed to hold their breath as they watched Triple S and Naga Sembilan battle just a few meters before the finish line.
The duel was won by Naga Sembilan, who once again showed his true identity as a back-running horse when he successfully passed Triple S to claim the SARGA.CO Cup with a total prize of IDR 70 million.
“Even though the margin was, oh, very, very small, we were just as nervous,” said Red Stone Stable owner Bagus Haryanto while speaking to the SARGA.CO team.
That day, Naga Sembilan appeared as the star of the IHR 59th PORDASI National Horse Racing Championship Series II 2025. The Class A Star of Stars – 2,200 Meter was the main class, contested by five horses: Queen Divona, Kashmir Pararaja, Triple SS, Prince Patriot, and Naga Sembilan himself.
As the holder of the 2025 Star of Stars title, not many people know the origin of the number nine in the name of the horse formerly known as Leonidas.
Bagus explained that the number nine was taken from the number of “whorls” (user-useran) owned by his favorite horse.
“Being called Naga Sembilan also has its basis. Some people believe in ‘user-useran’,” he said.
For your information, user-useran, or horse hair whorls, are natural swirl patterns in a horse’s hair that are usually visible on the forehead, neck, or other parts of the body. This pattern appears from the direction of hair growth that rotates to form a circle, similar to a human hair whorl.
SARGA.CO
Bagus shared that he fell in love with Naga Sembilan the first time he saw him. He also knew that his horse was a seventh-generation racehorse (KP7) and had a track record as runner-up in the 2024 Series I Championship.
“He comes from quite a high lineage, and currently under the banner of Red Stone, we maintain him well,” he said.
Realizing that Red Stone is a small-scale stable, Bagus said he constantly learns from large stable owners in terms of caring for and maintaining racehorses. From the results of his consultations with trainer and horse racing legend Edwin Basuki, he also learned that Naga Sembilan met the criteria of a superior racehorse.
While caring for and training Naga Sembilan, the horse born from the stallion Da Vinci Eclipse and the mare Marior Sia was known as the type of horse that was lazy during training but fierce when seeing the racetrack.
“During training he’s rather lazy. If he’s not paired (tandem), he becomes lazy. Even just walking, he’s lazy,” he revealed.
The same assessment was expressed by Steven Joseph, Naga Sembilan’s trainer. “In training he really is lazy. Maybe he heats up slowly, so during training, in one lap he almost looks like he wants to stop,” he said.
However, this lazy character quickly changed once Naga Sembilan had trained for three laps. Naga Sembilan would also show his true character when seeing the racetrack.
“When he enters the track, wow, he goes crazy for sure. The handlers even get dragged,” said Steven.
Like humans, Bagus revealed that Naga Sembilan seemed to know when he was about to compete in a race. His lazy character would instantly change, and he would become enthusiastic about running.
“Horses actually understand when it’s training time and when it’s competition time. In a race, it’s different, the atmosphere is different, and he understands it. When he’s been dressed up neatly, he knows that it’s race time, that he’s about to compete. He behaves differently when he enters the track,” Bagus explained.
With the 2025 Star of Stars title already in hand, Bagus only hopes that Naga Sembilan will always be given the best health so that his career in national horse racing can last for a long time.
“If Saud’s horse won Star of Stars five times, who knows, Naga Sembilan might follow. So we just ask for prayers; the most important thing is that he stays healthy. As for dreams related to the horse…”
Install SARGA.CO News
sarga.co
Rekomendasi