Bold Silvano misses World Cup; Victor’s Cry tunes up for
Duty Free
Impressive Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (UAE-G3) winner BOLD SILVANO (Silvano
[Ger]), who missed the Maktoum Challenge Round 3 (UAE-G2) with a bruised foot,
has suffered another setback that forced him out of Saturday’s $10 million Dubai
World Cup (UAE-G1).
“He worked well yesterday,” a disappointed Mike de Kock said Monday, “but
seems to have tweaked or pulled something. We cannot actually put our finger on
it immediately but it is enough to rule him out.
“It is a great shame as he is a genuine World Cup horse. It has not been easy
with him this season, but we will be back next year. At least we have back up in
the shape of GOLDEN SWORD (High Chaparral [Ire]) who will take his place.
“It is no secret that we wanted to run Golden Sword in the Dubai World Cup,
as has been a revelation on the all-weather. He is working very well and
certainly seems to be back to something like his best. His form in Europe
suggests he will handle conditions.”
De Kock has another legitimate World Cup contender in last year’s U.A.E.
Derby (UAE-G2) winner, MUSIR (Redoute’s Choice), who stepped into Bold Silvano’s
shoes in the Maktoum Challenge Round 3 on Super Thursday and beat all bar Dubai
World Cup favorite Twice Over (GB) (Observatory). Musir was meant to have run
over a mile instead that day, but coped with the step up to about 1 1/4 miles.
“You have to think he stayed as he was only beaten by one horse,” de Kock
said. “Hopefully he has come on from that run, and he is a great second string
to our World Cup bow.”
Trainer Henry Cecil is expected on track later in the week, and his Dubai
World Cup hopeful TWICE OVER had a steady canter over half a mile on the main
track under his regular jockey Tom Queally. The six-year-old looked on good
terms with himself in this very easy piece of work.
“It’s a bit ambitious,” acknowledged assistant trainer Christophe Lorieul of
The six-year-old has not raced since finishing second to Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa)
“He does run well fresh,” Lorieul said, but conceded the distance of the
The winner of six Grade 1 races in the United States and $5,037,800, Gio
Lorieul said that Gio Ponti typically gets a bit edgy when schooling at the
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Overall, Lorieul reported that Gio Ponti handled the long journey to Dubai
from the United States better than he did last year and has adapted more
quickly, eating well and moving fluidly over Meydan’s all-weather track.
Fellow American World Cup hope FLY DOWN (Mineshaft) galloped about 1 1/4
miles Monday morning at Meydan under exercise rider Tiffany Green, who
accompanied the four-year-old colt on his trip from Florida.
“The last two days he’s galloped a mile and a quarter, which is a little bit
less than normal but enough to keep him sharp,” said Green, who is supervising
Fly Down’s preparations until assistant trainer Tim Poole arrives later Monday.
The Dubai World Cup will be the first start over a synthetic surface for Fly
Down.
“He’s never run on anything but the dirt,” Green said. “He seems to love (the
all-weather surface at Meydan). He seems to be skipping over it, but you never
know until they run on it.”
Fly Down has acclimated to his surroundings well and proved to be an easy
shipper.
“He shipped perfectly,” she said. “They said he was perfect on the plane. He
ate up everything. He was the first one off the first van and he strutted off
there liked he owned the place. The first day out of quarantine I wanted to take
him to the track and jog him a turn but he was too full of himself, so I jogged
a half-turn and turn around and gallop a bit.
“He’ll keep galloping and then he’ll gate school Thursday or Friday, and wait
for race day.”
Japanese super mare BUENA VISTA (Special Week), who will also make her
synthetic debut in the World Cup, was just walking around the stable area on
Monday morning.
“She was working on the all-weather last year as well, and she could cope
with the surface,” Keiji Yamaguchi, the traveling head lad, commented. “There is
no hitch about the track. She has been settled well since she arrived. She has a
good appetite and is in good condition. She will put in a slow work for two laps
tomorrow morning.”
Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-G1) winner TRANSCEND (Wild Rush) was walking around the
stable area.
“He did not have any problem with his gait,” Hisami Yamashita, the work rider
said. “He has a very good appetite, and I think he feels sound.”
Grand Prix Arima Kinen (Jpn-G1) winner VICTOIRE PISA (Neo Universe) cantered
easily on Monday.
“The travel from Japan was very smooth,” workrider Kiyofumi Takigawa said.
“He is eating up very well and is in a good form.”
In other Dubai news:
“He looked good to me,” Harty said. “I let him stretch his legs and he went
Jim Cornes, the Dubai Racing Club clocker, reported that Victor’s Cry
Irish jockey Tadhg O’Shea, who has been very successful riding in Dubai, was
O’Shea told Harty that he thought Victor’s Cry “went super,” the trainer
Victor’s Cry will have a day off on Tuesday and just walk in the quarantine
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Harty, who saddled 2009 Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed and who trained
2001 American champion juvenile filly Tempera for Godolphin, said he believes
Victor’s Cry, who typically rallies from off the pace, has a good chance in the
Dubai Duty Free.
“His style of running is conducive to the way they run here,” Harty noted.
“He can sprint to the wire with the best of them.”
PRESVIS (Sakhee) covered about seven furlongs on the turf course under
big-race jockey Ryan Moore ahead of his bid to land the Dubai Duty Free, a race
in which he was 11th last year after a luckless run through the field.
“That was Presvis’ final workout ahead of Saturday’s race,” trainer Luca
Cumani said, “and I was perfectly happy with the way things went.”
After winning by the Al Rashidiya (UAE-G2) in January by more than four
lengths, Presvis was beaten into third in a bobbing finish by Wigmore Hall (Ire)
(High Chaparral [Ire]) and Poet’s Voice (Dubawi) in the Jebel Hatta (UAE-G2)
three weeks ago.
“He is a year older now and it is hard to say if he is still as good as he
was, but I have been happy with his two runs to date this year,” Cumani
continued. “Obviously I would have liked to have won last time out, but he ran
very well and it looked like a good race.
“The draw on Saturday is irrelevant to him, as he is going to be last out of
the stalls but I hope, with luck in running, that he will have every chance.”
Ryan Moore has steered Presvis to his last six wins, including four in Dubai,
and he will again be in the plate this weekend ahead of his bid to repeat his
2009 success in Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup (HK-G1).
“If everything goes according to plan he will go on to Hong Kong for the AP
QE II and to Singapore after that,” Cumani added.
Sweet Ducky is handling the new environment and all-weather surface at Meydan
However, Brown said Monday that if Sweet Ducky runs well in the U.A.E. Derby,
“Obviously, it would be a temptation,” Brown said of the Kentucky Derby. “I
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So far, Sweet Ducky “seems to have traveled well and he’s eating and drinking
well,” Brown said after watching the colt gallop under English-based jockey Tom
Queally, who has been named to ride in the U.A.E. Derby. “He’s tall and leggy,
and with maturity he could be a really good horse.”
Brown plans to send Sweet Ducky out on Tuesday for “an 800-meter (about
half-mile) burst” of speed just to sharpen him for the race.
“We’re just learning as we go along with him as he just arrived here last
week. We’ll see more tomorrow,” Brown said. “I basically just want to help the
horse keep doing well and take our chances that way rather than stressing him.”
Brown said that he will consider it a good performance if Sweet Ducky can
finish fourth or better in the U.A.E. Derby.
J J THE JET PLANE (Jet Master) is a proven Group 1 performer and looks the
one they all have to beat in the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint (UAE-G2). He won this
race (before it was added to the Dubai World Cup card) in 2009 for de Kock.
“We were delighted with his win last time and he is flying on the gallops,”
current handler “Lucky” Houdalakis reports. “The race cannot come soon enough!”
KING DANCER (Danehill Dancer), a Group Two winner in Hong Kong, looms as a
dark horse in the $5 million Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE-G1). Trainer Sean Woods
is confident his under-the-radar contender can pull off something of a surprise
now that his chestnut will be reunited with jockey Ryan Moore in the wake of
Snow Fairy’s (Intikhab) withdrawal owing to lameness.
King Dancer, with Moore on board and blinkers applied for the first time, ran
the best race of his career in the about 1 1/4-mile Hong Kong Gold Cup (HK-G1)
last month when second to California Memory (Highest Honor).
That form has a strong look to it, given that the latter is likely to develop
into a genuine international Group 1 contender and that Irian (Tertullian),
runner-up to Snow Fairy by a neck in the Hong Kong Cup (HK-G1) over the same
course and distance in December, finished a length behind King Dancer.
“Ryan traveled halfway round the world to ride our horse that day in the hope
that he would turn into a solid Sheema Classic chance because initially it was
felt that Snow Fairy would be running in the World Cup,” Woods said.
“It’s disappointing for her connections that she won’t be able to run, but it
works out well for us that Ryan can ride King Dancer because he obviously gets
on well with him and he knows the track at Meydan very well.”
Woods said his five-year-old chestnut, considered an outsider for the win by
many experts, galloped “sensationally” at Sha Tin last week before flying to the
Emirates.
“It was much better work than anything he had put down before the Gold Cup,
so that I hope that bodes well for him, but I am just hoping that the race is
truly run in Meydan. I feel he is better over 2,400 meters (the Sheema distance
of about 1 1/2 miles) than 2,000 meters, but it’s important that they don’t
dawdle along like they did in Hong Kong in the Vase (HK-G1) in December leaving
him with too much to do.”
The entire Hong Kong season stages just three races over 1 1/2 miles in a
season to prompt Woods’ search overseas for a more suitable options in terms of
distance — and there is also the horse’s future after retirement to consider.
“The money on offer is obviously second to none, but it’s not like it’s bad
in Hong Kong either and we bypassed an easier Group race at home for him on the
weekend. The main reason we are going to Dubai is because he is still an entire
horse and we are trying to establish a good profile for him to take to stud.
“It looks a pretty open race, especially now that Snow Fairy has come out,
and all is going well and we feel he has a good chance of being in the finish.”