MIKE DE KOCK REFLECTS ON DUBAI WORLD CUP CARNIVAL 2013

Christophe Soumillon aboard Shea Shea displays the South African flag following victory in the Al Quoz Sprint (Group 1)
(Photo : Reuters)

DUBAI WORLD CUP CARNIVAL
10 January - 30 March 2013

The party’s over and Mike de Kock, back in South Africa following a hugely successful Dubai World Cup Carnival and Dubai World Cup race meeting, was all business earlier this week as he summed up the last three months with an understated: “All went well. I can’t complain at all. And that my two winners on Saturday night were South African-breds makes it sweeter.”

On several occasions over the Easter weekend De Kock and his Dubai team joined up with the South African patriots who had travelled to Dubai to watch his warriors do battle on the big night, thoroughly enjoying the camaraderie. He had much to celebrate even before Dubai World Cup night because he finished second in the trainers’ standings for the Dubai World Cup Carnival 2013 with stake earnings of $1.9 million behind Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor. The South African saddled 13 winners at the Carnival, with four at feature-race level - The Apache in the Group 2 Al Rashidiya, Soft Falling Rain in the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas, Mushreq in the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort and Shea Shea in the Listed Meydan Sprint.

On Saturday night at the Dubai World Cup fixture, he added another two to his tally for 2013 with Shea Shea, a son of National Emblem, in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint and Soft Falling Rain, by National Assembly, in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile. He shared training honours on the night with Irishman Aidan O’Brien and Saeed bin Suroor and remained the most successful non-local trainer in Dubai World Cup history.

Both Soft Falling Rain and Shea Shea are now headed to England, along with high-strung Giant’s Causeway filly Emotif (ran in the UAE Derby) and Treasure Beach (eighth in the Dubai World Cup).

Shea Shea was most impressive under Christophe Soumillon (scoring his second win of the night). “That was a very confident ride,” admitted De Kock, “but Christophe knew what he had under him. The horse was unbelievable - there’s not much more I can say that’s not already been said.” He continued: “Emotif is better on turf and the Dubai World Cup just came too soon for Treasure Beach. He’s got a lot of ability and is coming on the right way. Soft Falling Rain has done nothing wrong and at this stage he’s given everything we’ve asked of him. We won’t know just how good he is until he takes on top horses in Europe,” added De Kock.

The trainer had two other horses in the Godolphin Mile, Rerouted (sixth - “a good run”) and Master Of Hounds, who is bound for America where he will stand at stud. Five-year-old Rerouted will remain in Dubai alongside the stable’s Gold Cup runner Star Empire (finished fifth), Mushreq (10th in the Duty Free) and Zahee (sixth in the Derby) to compete during next year’s Carnival.

“Star Empire has got limitations but he should have run second,” said De Kock. “He had to ease off their heels twice and with a clear passage would have finished second or third. I reckon we’ll aim him at the Gold Cup next year.”

De Kock’s next best result was The Apache’s second to Sajjhaa in the Dubai Duty Free. To a biased patriot, for a split second in the straight it looked as though The Apache and Igugu might take her measure, but that was not to be as she took over from Little Mike 200m out and won by 1.75 lengths. Igugu was fifth, 2.75 lengths behind the winner.

“Sajjhaa was impressive throughout the Carnival and was always travelling well. She always had us and confirmed the form of the Jebel Hatta,” said De Kock. “Both The Apache and Igugu ran very well. Igugu is coming back to her best.”

The Apache and Igugu are probably off to Hong Kong for the Audemars Piguet QEII Cup at Sha Tin on 28 April.

De Kock’s other two Dubai World Cup campaigners, Await The Dawn (fifth in the Sheema Classic) and Kavanagh (sixth in the Golden Shaheen after being eased on the bend - “he should have finished at least a length closer to winner”) could go to Singapore for the Singapore Airlines International Cup and KrisFlyer Sprint respectively on Sunday 19 May.

“The others are irrelevant. If they weren’t good enough to run on World Cup night, they are not good enough for international campaigns,” De Kock concluded.

Extract from Racing Express

NOT EXACTLY A TIPPING SHEET

Animal Kingdom’s owners John Messara of Arrowfield Stud and Barry Irwin of Team Valor International
with winning jockey Joel Rosario receiving the Dubai World Cup
(Photo : Sport360)

“That’s five from six, which sounds more like a Dale Steyn
bowling return than a regular Summerhill tipping sheet.”

Let me confess, these columns are not known for any particular science in predicting the outcome of a horse race. We’re far too sentimental to be good tipsters, but occasionally we get it right. In our ramblings in the lead up to the weekend, we went out on a limb and named a few fancies.

You might argue that Shea Shea was a certainty in the $1million Al Quoz Sprint (Gr.1) in Dubai, but there’s no such thing on a world stage, particularly in an international field where the talents of the protagonists are beyond comparison. Nor could you have anticipated that he’d smash a course record which just three weeks before, he’d made his own. The son of former Summerhill sire, National Emblem, deservedly heads for Royal Ascot’s King’s Stand Stakes (Gr.1), where the world might just be treated to one of the great sprinting contests of all-time. Black Caviar is 24 from 24 as matters stand, and while she’s earned her rating as the second best horse on the planet, her connections will be the first to acknowledge that she took down a tame field in England last year. It would take a brave man to suggest that Shea Shea has her measure, but Australia is no longer the breeding ground for the out-and-out blinding speed it used to be. Increasingly, the influence of shuttle stallions has blunted the profile of the aptitudes for which Australian thoroughbreds were once famous, and whatever the outcome, on the evidence of his exertions in Dubai, Shea Shea will be a worthy foe for one of the best sprinters the world has known.

In hindsight, a seven-for-seven record tells us that anyone betting against Soft Falling Rain in the Godolphin Mile on Saturday, needed a shrink. Yet in its 18 renewals, the $1million race has never been won by a three-year-old, and that tells you something. Besides, he was drawn on the rank outside and that’s where he remained well into the finishing stretch. Pressed four and five wide for the duration of the race, the colt galloped right to the line, and he takes an unblemished record to Royal Ascot as well. The Beck family have produced some crackers in their time at Highlands and Maine Chance, but this fellow might be the pinnacle of their endeavours.

There’s not much more we can say about Mike de Kock as a racehorse trainer. As one of the greatest exponents of the art the world has known, we’ve come to expect these things from him. But even then, you’d not have stretched your anticipation to two track records, and a cracking second from The Apache in the $5million Duty Free. There have been some remarkable performances by some remarkable horses over the Dubai turf in the past two decades, and yet here we are, with the fastest 1000 and 1600 metres ever. Add to that Golden Sword’s 2000 metre still-standing record, and you’d have to believe he gives them wings.

You might have said there was no genius in picking Animal Kingdom for the $10million Dubai World Cup, and here we’d have to admit to some sentiment. He belongs to two old mates, Arrowfield’s John Messara and Team Valor’s Barry Irwin, so we might have tagged him anyway. We were on hand for his big day in America’s biggest horse race, the Kentucky Derby, though, and that and his “prep” for Dubai was enough for us. Remember too, that when we fingered him, he was only the fourth choice on the betting boards, shortening a bit when Monterosso defected at the last minute.

How many mares get two Group winners at the same race meeting? It’s happened before, but it’s not your everyday occurrence. While we were in Australia a fortnight back, Helsinge had the lofty distinction of having two Group One winners on the same weekend, though at different venues. Both are exceptional: Black Caviar is already a household name, and her younger brother, All Too Hard, is on his way to becoming one. He is already the best three-year-old in Australasia, and he might just be as good as they get anywhere in the world.

That shouldn’t detract though, from Bridget Oppenheimer’s spectacular achievement on Saturday. Not only was the winner of the Harry Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes (Gr.1) Slumdogmillionaire, appropriately bred at her nursery, Mauritzfontein, but so too, was the sublime victress of the SA Fillies Classic (Gr.1), Cherry On The Top and the gusty winner of the Jacaranda Handicap (Gr.3) Cherry On The Cake. The best measure of a great mare is one capable of getting good horses no matter her mates, and the Oaks-winning Carolina Cherry has done just that. This is a family affair: the Triple Crown aspirant who might just be the best South African-bred filly we’ve seen in decades, is a daughter of Mary Slack’s Tiger Ridge, while Cherry On The Cake is by the sadly deceased Strike Smartly, sire too, of Slumdogmillionaire. The family traces to Sir Mordaunt Milner’s great foundation producer, Miss Therese, dam of the Kannemeyer-trained Guineas winner, Man Of Property.

Revisit our column, Classics And Clues on Friday last, and you’ll find “Slumdog” and the “Cherry” in the mix as well. That’s five from six, which sounds more like a Dale Steyn bowling return than a regular Summerhill tipping sheet. Without in any way wanting to diminish your faith in our picking abilities, we have to confess that Tellina was our choice for the Colt’s Classic. Thank goodness we got that one wrong!

SOFT FALLING RAIN LANDS GODOLPHIN MILE

Watch Soft Falling Rain winning the Godolphin Mile (Group 2)
(Photo : Ahmend Jadallah - Footage : Dubai Racing Meydan)

$1,000,000 GODOLPHIN MILE (Group 2)
Meydan, All Weather, 1600m
30 March 2013

South African trainer Mike de Kock has won countless feature races at the Dubai World Cup Carnival by intuitively placing his horses in potentially winning positions. Some may have characterized the entry of South African-bred 3-year-old Soft Falling Rain (National Assembly) against his elders in Saturday’s $1,000,000 Godolphin Mile (Group 2) as something of an audacious move, given that there was an opportunity to run against his peers in the following race. But the Shadwell runner got things off to a flying start for the stable and overcame a difficult trip to maintain his undefeated record. Longshot Haatheq (Seeking the Gold) held for a Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum one-two, while Godolphin’s Moonwalk in Paris (Oratorio) ran on well from the tail to round out the minors.

Drawn to the far outside in 13, Soft Falling Rain raced in the second flight of horses as Group 1 Travers Stakes dead-heater, Alpha (Bernardini), dictated terms over a track playing exceedingly slow in the heat of the late afternoon. The chalk was never able to get in on the track as Haatheq surged past the pacesetter to lead with 400 meters to race. But Soft Falling Rain responded very gamely to the urgings of jockey Paul Hanagan and worked his way past Haatheq close to home for a richly deserved victory.

“They went so quick from the start that I had to go wider than I wanted all the way,” Hanagan related. “I wondered whether he could come forward when we reached the straight but this horse is so genuine. It was an amazing race and great thrill. It ranks with my best ever wins. Before this my best was on Mayson in the July Cup last year.”

De Kock was hugely impressed after the race and said: “This was an unbelievably good win by Soft Falling Rain. It’s one of the most impressive wins I’ve seen by a horse in my life!” He added: ” haven’t seen too many horses under pressure that far out and still find something at the finish. It just shows how good a horse he is. Turning for home I would have been happy to be second but the horse dug in and fought all the way. I thought he could win but in the race, I was worried. I knew he’d won when he crossed the line. He will go to Royal Ascot and we will enter him in the one-mile Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes and the six-furlong Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes.”

Soft Falling Rain is now unbeaten in six starts.

Extracts from Thoroughbred Daily News and Mike de Kock Racing

DUBAI SNIPPETS

Watch interview with Sei Ishizaka, trainer of Gentildonna
(Image and footage - Dubai Racing Meydan)

DUBAI WORLD CUP NIGHT
Meydan, 30 March 2013

We did say we’d bring you some titbits on the prospects of the South African-connected runners in this weekend’s World Cup extravaganza, once we’d spoken to our pals in Dubai. The low-down at this stage looks like this:

• Mike de Kock has at least one entry in each of the races on the card; bear in mind, they kick off at 15:45 pm on Saturday (Channel 239). While he’s hopeful of getting his grubby fingers on a bit of the largesse from each of these races, he’s a realist and he knows where he’s outgunned. His big hopes for the evening are Shea Shea in the $1 million Al Quoz Sprint, and Soft Falling Rain (despite his poor draw) in the $2 million Godolphin Mile. The latter defends an unbeaten record in his most searching contest to date, but we should add that in his education at Summerhill, the Highlands-bred always had the looks of a budding star.
• Riding arrangements for the evening are confusing: historically, Christophe Soumillion has had the pick of the mounts in Dubai, and while he throws a leg over Shea Shea in the Sprint, Paul Hanagan will strap his saddle on Soft Falling Rain. Soumilion stays with the reluctant-looking hero of last year’s $5 million Duty Free, Master Of Hounds, but goes the mile this time. This may just be a case of history repeating itself, which explains the way the cards have been stacked. Soumillion is in the irons for Kavanagh in the Golden Shaheen ($2million), where he has a tough assignment against last year’s ace, Krypton Factor and the American flyer, Trinniburg.
• In the UAE Derby, where his five previous scores have provided de Kock with some of his most memorable triumphs in the past, it seems Emotif and Zahee are more hopeful than likely, though with De Kock you never know. Just when you think you’ve got him on the canvas, he gets you with a hook right under the chin.
• In the World Cup itself, Soumillion once again gets the chance on Galileo’s Treasure Beach, though here we have a sentimental favourite in Animal Kingdom, who belongs to a couple of mates, Barry Irwin’s Team Valor, who bred and raced this winner of America’s most famous race, the Kentucky Derby, and John Messara of Arrowfield Stud in Australia. They’re not alone though in a pretty competitive field, as they have the Breeder’s Cup heroine and Eclipse champion, Royal Delta to contend with, as well as Group One winners Red Cadeaux and Dullahan.
• As usual, the $5 million Duty Free has attracted a competitive line-up, headed by the New Zealand-bred Ocean Park, (four Group Ones to his tally to date), America’s City Style and High Chaparral’s repeat Group One winner, Wigmore Hall. At her best, we’d have to think Igugu would have had the measure of them all, but we’ve only now discovered the reason behind her early lack of form. She suffered a fractured splint bone while she was in England, which set her back more than a month at a crucial time, hence the fact that The Apache, who was nowhere near her measure in South Africa, has shown superior form in Dubai, and it’s not without a chance again on Saturday. De Kock’s entry is rounded out by Mushreq, who is apparently an outside chance of making the money.
• It’s arguable that the most competitive challenge on the card is the $5 million Sheema Classic (2410 metres), which includes the Japanese Horse of The Year, Gentildonna (see article on her astonishing work performance below), world class Ballydoyle inmate, St Nicholas Abbey, and the Melbourne Cup hero Dunaden. De Kock has an intriguing entry with Pat Cosgrave, whose said to have a special affinity with his horse: Await The Dawn was touted as a future superstar earlier in his career, but he is yet to live up to that billing in Group One company. His form in Dubai has been mixed, with a down-the-field finish when needing his opening start, an impressive romp in Handicap company next time out, and a staying-on second in the City Of Gold (Gr.2) at his last appearance, where it has to be said, he was the victim of a muddling pace. It wasn’t a star-studded field, and you might have expected more of him in that case, if he was anywhere near his top. That said, if the Await The Dawn we thought he was pitches up on the night, he will trouble his more illustrious foes, as well as the judge. Only Saturday night will tell.

Either way, there’s more than R350 million up for grabs on the day, and it’s a feast no hardcore racing fan can afford to miss.

Gentildonna looks sharp in Meydan Work…

There should be no denying the most impressive mover of Monday’s trackwork session at Meydan - 2012 Japan Cup winner Gentildonna (Jpn) (Deep Impact). Making her first appearance out of quarantine, she came on the course with two countrymates, G2 UAE Derby longshot Keiai Leone (Jpn) (Henny Hughes) and similarly big priced Dubai Golden Shaheen chance Taisei Legend (Jpn) (King Kamehameha). All three emerged in a straight line out of the 1,600-meter chute and moved onto the main course and Gentildonna was gone. Under nothing more than a Hopwood, Dubai Racing Club steady gallop, she powered away from the pair and opened up a 300-meter lead around the far turn, hitting the finish more than 200 meters in front. She pulled up seemingly on her own 200 meters past the wire and was happy as a peach, while the apparently overmatched pair behind her were lathered and winded after running on their own in a distant wake. Gentildonna’s trainer Sei Ishizaka was not on hand, but has been to Dubai before, bringing Vermilion (Jpn) (El Condor Pasa) here twice, running a distant fourth in the 2007 G1 Dubai World Cup and then last in the 2008 edition.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

MULLINS BAY CELEBRATES EARLY WINNERS!

Mullins Bay
(Photo: Greig Muir)

“ROCK OF THE BAY”
Extract from Sporting Post

The Mullins Bay youngsters are off to a flying start. Champion South African breeders Summerhill Stud’s son of Machiavellian sired his second juvenile winner last week, when the very smart looking Gitiano paralysed his opposition to win going away over 1200m.

The extraordinarily handsome Mullins Bay has turned all the clever heads since his arrival in South Africa.

And for a horse who never raced at two and won from 1800m to 2100m, he is producing the goods where it matters most. And refreshingly early too!

Two juvenile winners in five weeks speak of great things to come from a stallion whom one would reasonably expect to get them to stay on. And this precocious ability, coupled with the core potential to go on to greater things, is surely the essence sought by anybody who has ever raised a catalogue in anticipation in the vicinity of a sales arena?

The Tyrone Zackey-trained Croke Park won an excellent race on debut when streaking clear late to win a Maiden Juvenile Plate over a mile at Turffontein in early June. The Somerset Stud product out of the Gallic League mare, Streisand, was backed from an opening call of 25-1 all the way into 15-2. His trainer thinks highly of him, we hear.

Then the Alec Laird-trained Gitiano was an equally impressive winner at his second start over the Scottsville 1200m last Tuesday, when he showed eye-catching acceleration to win going away. Out of the Jet Master mare, Poppy Elizabeth, he had run a very good third to the promising The Hangman on debut.

Mullins Bay was the best racing son of sire of sires Machiavellian in 2006 and achieved a Timeform rating of 121lbs at 3 years old. From just 14 racecourse starts, he earned 12 times and won 3 races, including the Gr3 Grand Prix Strensall Stakes beating Andean and the TFR 126 rated Maraahel.

He hails from an outstanding family and is out of Broodmare of the Year, Bella Colora (by Bellypha) who won 4 races in the UK and France. These included victories in the Gr2 Prix de l’Opera and the Gr3 Candelabra Stakes. She produced champion Stagecraft (by Sadler’s Wells) who won 6 races, including the Gr2 Prince Of Wales Stakes, the Gr1 Canadian Turf Handicap and the Gr2 Breeder’s Cup Handicap. Mullins Bay is a brother to two other Group winners.

Champion South African trainer Mike de Kock, who had the honour of training the handsome fellow for a stretch of his racing career including a great third placed finish in the 2007 Godolphin Mile at the Dubai World Cup meeting, may have put his finger on it, when he went on record as observing that ‘Mullins Bay was surprisingly fast.’

Mullins Bay produced 50 foals from his first crop of 2009. Only thirteen have run. Two have won. That’s good going.

His 6 lots on the 2011 National Yearling Sale averaged R107,500, with his top seller going for R160,000.

Mullins Bay stands at Summerhill for a fee of R15,000. Make a note of this one.

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