THE CHAMPIONS MILE 2010 : BARRIER DRAW

Imbongi
(Photo : Hong Kong Jockey Club)

HONG KONG MILE (GR1)
Sha Tin, 25 April 2010

#	Horse	Representing	Trainer	Draw
1	GOOD BA BA	HONG KONG	Derek Cruz	1
2	EGYPTIAN RA	HONG KONG	Tony Cruz	12
3	FELLOWSHIP	HONG KONG	Paul O’Sullivan	7
4	SIGHT WINNER	HONG KONG	John Size	5
5	ABLE ONE	HONG KONG	John Moore	8
6	BEAUTY FLASH	HONG KONG	Tony Cruz	2
7	DAO DAO	AUSTRALIA	John Hawkes	10
8	THUMBS UP	HONG KONG	Danny Shum	9
9	IMBONGI	SOUTH AFRICA	Mike de Kock	6
10	SUNNY KING	HONG KONG	John Moore	3
11	FAIR TRADE	HONG KONG	Caspar Fownes	11
12	BRAVE KID	HONG KONG	John Size	4

IMBONGI GETS WORLD’S HOTTEST JOCKEY

Christophe Soumillon
(Photo : Journal de l’Equitation)

IMBONGI, CHRISTOPHE SOUMILLON AND THE HONG KONG MILE

News yesterday morning, was that Europe’s best jockey, Christophe Soumillon had confirmed his availability for the ride on Imbongi in next week’s Hong Kong Mile. It’s no different to the motor racing world, where it matters whether you get Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton or Michael Schumacher. The jockey counts, and this a first step in the right direction.

Imbongi is still sitting in Dubai, awaiting the conclusion of his quarantine after a cracker of a season during the Carnival, and ran a “buster” of a run on World Cup night. He must’ve been looking forward to his break, though Mike de Kock knows, you can’t rest forever. The Hong Kong Mile is always one of the most competitive events at the distance in the world, and this one will be no different. Imbongi will have to be at the top of his game to justify Soumillon’s trip across the eight time zones to partner him.

Knowing Imbongi, he’ll make it count. 

HK$12MILLION CHAMPIONS MILE (Group 1)
Sha Tin, 1600m, Turf
25 April 2010

Final Selections

Horse	Country	Int Rating	Age	Weight (lb)	Trainer
GOOD BA BA (USA)**	Hong Kong	112	8	126	Derek Cruz
EGYPTIAN RA (NZ)*	Hong Kong	119	8	126	Tony Cruz
FELLOWSHIP (NZ)*	Hong Kong	118	7	126	Paul O’Sullivan
SIGHT WINNER (NZ)**	Hong Kong	117	6	126	John Size
ABLE ONE (NZ)**	Hong Kong	116	7	126	John Moore
BEAUTY FLASH (NZ)*	Hong Kong	116	4	126	Tony Cruz
DAO DAO (AUS)	Australia	116	6	126	John Hawkes
THUMBS UP (NZ)*	Hong Kong	115	5	126	Danny Shum
CAT JUNIOR (USA)	Great Britain	114	5	126	Brian Meehan
IMBONGI (SAF)	South Africa	114	5	126	Mike de Kock
SUNNY KING (IRE)	Hong Kong	114	7	126	John Moore
FAIR TRADE (AUS)	Hong Kong	111	4	126	Caspar Fownes
BRAVE KID (AUS)	Hong Kong	110	4	126	John Size

Note :
** International Group 1 Winner
* Hong Kong Group 1 Winner

IMBONGI, THE DUBAI DUTY FREE AND THE MEANING OF ONE

Saddlecloth number one for Imbongi
(Image : Summerhill Stud)

$5,000,000 DUBAI DUTY FREE (Gr1)
Meydan 27 March 2010

When it comes to the big races of the world, it’s always an honour to be awarded the number one saddlecloth, particularly in an international field. That’s the fate of our man Imbongi, who heads up the field for the time-honoured $5million Dubai Duty Free (Gr1) tomorrow evening (17:55 pm local time Channel 232). No race of this magnitude is an easy picking, the prize money alone guaranteeing the attraction of some world class competitors. Imbongi will have to cope with the formidable claim of Luca Cumani’s charge, Presvis, a dual international Group One winner, the Hong Kong Champion Good Ba Ba, and the top American contender, Courageous Cat, among several others with serious talent.

Let’s not forget though, that local buyers missed their chance to get their claws on Imbongi as a Ready To Run Sales candidate a few seasons back, off a reserve price of just R80 000. That he went on to become South Africa’s Champion Three-Year-Old Miler was just a precursor to what’s happened since. In 2009 he showed glimpses of what we might expect at the Dubai Carnival with a convincing win in England’s Group Two Criterion Stakes at racings headquarters, Newmarket. Injury saw him consigned to Dubai for the duration of their punishingly hot summer, but his form at the Carnival reminded us of his adaptability. Bred and raised in Zululand where the climate ranges from minus 5 in the dead of winter to thirty something at the height of summer, Imbongi is as resilient to the elements as he is to the rigours of racing, evidenced by his being proclaimed the Victor Ladorum of the Carnival, with earnings nudging R2million.

Tomorrow evening though, he finally gets his reward. A line-up in one of the world’s most prestigious horseraces, and the number one saddlecloth tells us he’s earned it.

DUBAI DUTY FREE 2010 FINAL FIELD

Click above to watch Gladiatorus winning the 2009 Dubai Duty Free
(Image and Footage : JapChan6)

$5,000,000 DUBAI DUTY FREE (Gr1)
Sponsored by Dubai Duty Free
Meydan Turf 1800m
27 March 2010

#	Horse	Age	OR	Weight	Jockey	Trainer
1	IMBONGI (SAF)	5	115	57.0	C Soumillon	M de Kock
2	GOOD BA BA (USA)	8	122	57.0	W Marwing	D Cruz
3	JUSTENUFFHUMOR (USA)	5	116	57.0	T Durcan	S bin Suroor
4	IBN BATTUTA (USA)	7	113	57.0	W Smith	M Al Muhairi
5	COURAGEOUS CAT (USA)	4	122	57.0	G Gomez	W Mott
6	TAM LIN (GB)	7	110	57.0	W Supple	M bin Shafya
7	AL SHEMALI (GB)	6	113	57.0	R Ffrench	A Al Raihe
8	BANKABLE (IRE)	6	115	57.0	K Shea	H Brown
9	THE USUAL Q T (USA)	4	116	57.0	V Espinoza	J Cassidy
10	TAKE THE POINTS (USA)	4	117	57.0	E Prado	T Pletcher
11	ALEXANDROS (GB)	5	115	57.0	L Dettori	S bin Suroor
12	CONFRONT (GB)	5	115	57.0	R Moore	M Stoute
13	LAHALEEB (IRE)	4	116	55.0	j Egan	F Nass
14	SNAAFY (USA)	6	119	57.0	R Hills	M Al Muhairi
15	PRESVIS (GB)	6	120	57.0	C Lemaire	L Cumani
16	CALVADOS BLUES (FR)	4	110	57.0	A Ajtebi	M Al Zarooni

THE CHAMPIONS MILE (Gr.1) : Sunday dawns in Hong Kong

Imbongi 23 April 2009
(Photo : Hong Kong Jockey Club)

You can go into any worthwhile website on racing anywhere in the world right now, and you can pick up news of this weekend’s big events in Hong Kong, including the Champions Mile. However, the one thing you won’t get is a statement from the horse’s mouth, so we thought we’d bring you news of our most recent bulletin from Mike de Kock, who sends our home-bred, Imbongi to post on Sunday.

Anyone hoping to make any sort of impression in this race would have to take history into account in their calculations, knowing that in all its time, the Hong Kong Champions Mile has yet to witness a placed runner among its foreign raiders, and that last year’s spectacular hero, Good Ba Ba reached the post in an amazing 1min 31.3 secs, and you know what you’re up against.

However, Mike de Kock is of the firm view that Imbongi is a real contender, provided he is over the troubles which confronted so many of the Mike de Kock stable in Dubai over the World Cup, and if Imbongi can get back to a modicum of the form which carried him to stardom in two Guineas and a triumph over Horse Of The Year, Pocket Power ans well as four other Grade One winners in the Drill Hall last season. Mike tells us though, that Imbongi managed an official “bullet” 21,5 secs for the last 400m of his final workout on Tuesday. If that’s not notice he’s ready to run for his life, tell us what is?

Keep your heads down, there could be an explosion Sunday morning (9:55 am our time).