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America’s Champion Curlin (Smart Strike) put his
rivals to the sword with an emphatic win in the Gr.1
Dubai World Cup on Saturday (March 29). Such was the
authority of his performance, his jockey Robbie
Albarado hardly had had an anxious moment as the
Champion traveled supremely well throughout the race,
stalking the lead before the American rider let him go
to the lead in the straight. The race was over in a
matter of strides, as Curlin pulled clear of his
toiling rivals to win unchallenged. |
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The four-year-old, who was bred by Fares Farm, is
owned by Stonestreet Stables, Padua Stables and George
Bolton, and trained by Steven Asmussen. He was sold
for $57,000 at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale and
was one of three of that company’s graduates to win
yesterday.
Benny The Bull, a $38,000 Keeneland September
graduate, landed the Gr.1 Dubai
Golden Shaheen, catching Idiot Proof (Benchmark),
close home. The son of Lucky Lionel was bred by Tomoka
Farms and is owned by IEAH Stables, Greg James and
Andrew I Cohen. He is trained by Richard Dutrow jnr
and was his second winner of the night, following the
victory of the third Keeneland graduate Diamond
Stripes (Notebook) in the Gr.2 Godolphin Mile. Owned
by Four Roses Thoroughbreds and bred
by Samuel and Mrs Rogers, Diamond Stripes was bought
for $95,000 at the November Sale as a foal and for
$340,000 at the September auction.
The other races were dominated by South African
trained horses. The Argentine-bred Honour Devil
collected the Gr.2 UAE Derby, adding to his earlier
victory in the Gr.2 UAE 2,000 Guineas. Bred by Haras
Firmamento, he is owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin
Khalifa Al Maktoum and trained by Mike de Kock, who
were also responsible for the second Royal Vintage
(Rich Man’s Gold). De Kock was later successful with
the Cohen and Rippon-owned Australian-bred Sun
Classique (Fuji Kiseki), who strode home to land the
Gr.1 Dubai Sheema Classic. The filly was bought by
Mike Bass for a mere R100,000 at the Equimark Vintage
Yearling Sale and was one of two winning graduates
from that sale. Earlier Jay Peg belied his long odds
to win the Gr.1 Dubai Duty Free. The R130,000 Vintage
Yearling purchase by Basil Marcus, who was bred by
High Season Stud and is trained by Herman Brown,
landed the big prize in record time by half a length
from Darjina (Zamindar). It was a family affair for
jockey Anton Marcus, whose brother used to train the
horse, while his older brother Selwyn still has a
share. He did well to win, as his saddle slipped 300m
out and he was nearly unseated. |
