IMBONGI SPEARHEADS SA'S ZABEEL MILE CHALLENGE

Imbongi
(Photo : Hong Kong Jockey Club / Summerhill Stud)

$250,000 ZABEEL MILE (GR2)
5 MARCH 2010

The highlight of tonight’s final Meydan race meeting before the Dubai World Cup on 27 March 2010 is undoubtedly the $250,000 Zabeel Mile on turf.

South African trainer Mike de Kock is aiming for a hattrick in the Group 2 contest, having taken victory with Kapil in 2007 and Archipenko in 2009, and tonight spearheads the South African challenge with the Warrior, Imbongi, and Hunting Tower.

Ed Marnane reports from Dubai that the Summerhill-bred Imbongi, sporting the silks of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum is to be piloted by Christophe Soumillon who will be seeking compensation for a narrow defeat to Bankable in the Al Fahidi Fort over the same course and distance last month.

Hunting Tower looks out of sorts on the evidence of his four starts this year, so is hard to fancy.

Useful Snaafy, who is getting 1kg from Imbongi, rates a lively contender, now that his connections have switched him to turf. Snaafy stepped back to 1600m after a dull effort in Round Two of the Maktoum Challenge over 1900m on Tapeta although he put up a smart performance when landing a valuable mile handicap in his Meydan debut last month, running out a convincing winner from Yasoodd and 10 others.

Fourth-placed Calming Influence gave the form a boost when running out a facile winner in his next appearance.

It’s by no means a two-horse race though. Last year’s third-placed Kalahari Gold, trained by in-form Doug Watson, is worth considering at longer odds. The five-year-old, who will be ridden by Tadhg O’Shea, has been knocking on the door all season and is capable of a big run in ideal conditions.

Godolphin’s Rio De La Plata, a Group 1-winning juvenile who was runner-up in the 2008 French 2,000 Guineas, has a plum draw in stall one and if fully wound up in his comeback, can’t be overlooked. He has had his problems, but a close second behind progressive Confront in a Group 3 race at Newmarket in October suggests the five-year-old retains much of his ability. He’ll be well suited to the prevailing fast ground, while 1600m is probably his optimum distance.

Catch all the action at 20:45 (SA Time) on Tellytrack DSTV Channel 232.

What they have to say :

Mike de Kock, trainer of Hunting Tower and Imbongi
“Both are fit and well. Hunting Tower always runs a solid race but has ground to find with Snaafy. Imbongi has run two very good races so far and deserves a change of luck. He should go close.”

Saeed bin Suroor, trainer of Rio De La Plata
“He was a very good juvenile when winning in Group 1 company and then ran very well in the French Guineas. He had problems at the end of that year but returned at the end of last season. He is ready for a run and pleasing us at home but he will come on from the outing.”

Richard Hills, jockey of Snaafy
“He impressed most people with his course and distance victory and we are looking at the Dubai Duty Free on Dubai World Cup night with him so this is an obvious race for him. He will run well.”

Doug Watson, trainer of Echoes Rock and Kalahari Gold
“Echoes Rock is a new horse to us this season and we are learning as we go with him. Kalahari Gold is a horse we have always liked and ran a great race in this last year. We expect a similar bold showing.”

 Jim Crowley, jockey of Without A Prayer
“He ran very well first time and his best turf form would make him competitive in what looks a good race.”

Fawzi Nass, trainer of Purple Sage
“We were delighted with her first run and we were left in front last time. That probably did not suit her so she should fare better but this is a better contest.”

Luca Cumani, trainer of Summit Surge
“This is his third start for us and first on turf. He won at Nad Al Sheba on grass last year and was a Group winner in Ireland also. Hopefully the change of surface is very much in or favour and he should run well.”

Alan Munro, jockey of  Ocean’s Minstrel
“He has been highly tried since arriving in Dubai and his last run was probably his best. The return to turf will suit but it isa tough race.”

Dhruba Selvaratnam, trainer of Yasoodd
“The conditions will suit as he is a real turf horse and the mile is ideal but he has a very tough task to reverse form with Snaafy. He is fit and well though and should run a nice race.”

Ryan Moore, jockey of Dunelight
“He is a nice horse but has a bit to find with a few of these.”

ZABEEL MILE (GR2) FINAL FIELD
1600M MEYDAN TURF

#	HORSE	AGE	WEIGHT	RPR	JOCKEY	TRAINER
1	RIO DE LA PLATA (USA)	5	57.0	130	L Dettori	S bin Suroor
2	ECHOES ROCK (GER)	7	57.0	122	P Dobbs	Doug Watson
3	DUNELIGHT (IRE)	7	57.0	122	R Moore	Clive Cox
4	SNAAFY (USA)	6	57.0	131	R Hills	Musabah Al Muhairi
5	OCEAN’S MINSTREL (GB)	4	57.0	115	A Munro	John Ryan
6	HUNTING TOWER (SAF)	8	57.0	118	K Shea	Mike de Kock
7	YASOODD (GB)	7	57.0	114	W Buick	Dhruba Selvaratnam
8	KALAHARI GOLD (IRE)	5	57.0	118	T O’Shea	Doug Watson
9	SUMMIT SURGE (IRE)	6	58.0	124	K Fallon	Luca Cumani
10	IMBONGI (SAF)	6	58.0	130	C Soumillon	Mike de Kock
11	WITHOUT A PRAYER (IRE)	5	57.0	128	J Crowley	Ralph Beckett
12	PURPLE SAGE (IRE)	4	55.0	118	O Peslier	Fawzi Nass
13	WORLD RULER (GB)	8	57.0	105	Res	Doug Watson

The Titan Wars

Mick GossIn January this year, Summerhill’s Mick Goss delivered the Keynote Breeding lecture at the Asian Racing Conference in Dubai. His focus on the “Battle of the Titans,” more commonly known as the struggle for global racing and breeding supremacy, was widely publicised in industry publications around the world. Now industry guru, Bill Oppenheim picks up the cudgels.

The top five sires in Europe this year all stand or stood at Coolmore—Danehill, Galileo, Montjeu, Sadler’s Wells, and Danehill Dancer. Including last week’s Tattersalls October 2 & 3 Sales at Newmarket, the excellent Insta-tistics table on our website now provides up-to-date international yearling averages on all sires. Danehill, of course, has his last three-year-olds in 2007. The other four have had a combined 231 yearlings sell so far this year (scattering at Keeneland September, the rest in most of the last three weeks in Europe). The 231 yearlings by these four sires grossed around $78.8 million—converted to dollars- which is the equivalent of just about 20 percent of the total amount grossed so far at the European yearling sales. That ’ s 231 yearlings, by the top four surviving sires in Europe, which averaged more than $341,000. Coolmore signed for 33 of them, totalling (by our calculations) $23.8 million. Maktoums and associates signed for…none. Yearlings by the top four sires in Europe: advantage Coolmore.

Jim Bolger (dailymail)Not four hours after the last October 3 yearling passed through the Tattersalls ’ ring, and not four miles away, Jim Bolger ’ s Galileo colt, New Approach, scored his fifth straight win and locked up the European two-year-old championship with a hard-fought (but ultimately impressive) win over Fast Company (Danehill Dancer). Raven ’ s Pass (Elusive Quality) was third, with Godolphin ’ s Rio de la Plata (Rahy) fourth. It looked like a very good G1 Darley Dewhurst S., and it transpires that the Maktoums now own an interest in the first four finishers. Sheikh Mohammed bought out breeder Seamus Burns ’ s half of New Approach in a well-documented transaction last month. Sheikh Mohammed ’s son, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, bought Fast Company from Earle Mack after his win in John Gosden (Julian Herbert/ALLSPORT)the G3 Acomb S. at York in August. John Ferguson signed for Rio de la Plata for Godolphin at the Tattersalls Two-Year-Old in Training Sale in April, and it was reported by the Racing Post that Sheikh Mohammed had bought into Raven ’ s Pass- trained by John Gosden for owner-breeder George Strawbridge—before the Dewhurst. Upshot: Darley controls the first four finishers in the Dewhurst. This year ’ s top two-year-olds: advantage Darley.

Watch the G1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes

Watch the G3 Acomb Stakes

Sheikh Mohammed (BBC)The battle lines are drawn. Can Coolmore produce enough good horses by existing top sires to sustain the overall advantage with which they begin this particular arms race? Or will Darley outgun them, surrounding them by buying every top racehorse/prospective stallion they can get their hands on? Sheikh Mohammed is playing the long game, and he has to, because Coolmore has the massive advantage of Sadler ’ s Wells having finally made a sire of sires (20 years after his first crop was foaled in 1986), and Danehill being on the verge of doing the same—through Danehill Dancer, Dansili, and maybe Rock of Gibraltar, after all. Darley has to not only produce equally top sires—Street Cry looks good, Cape Cross and Elusive Quality now have their chance to step up to the big time—but they then have to become sires of sires. From today, it can ’ t happen in less than a decade. But Sheikh Mohammed seems determined to try and make it happen, which will be great for the business—especially since his operation seems quite happy to buy the progeny of the top Coolmore sires in training: Authorized (Montjeu), Teofilo and New Approach (Galileo), and Fast Company (Danehill Dancer), for example. But for breeders, if you think picking the top stallions to use has been tough up til now, it ’ s going to get even more interesting. Are you breeding for dirt, turf, or all-weather? Are you breeding for America or Europe? Are you breeding Coolmore, Maktoum, or neutral? It ’ s going to be increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to breed for all those markets. Is a period of specialization in breeding choices looming?

World events bode well for next year's National Sales

GalileoAs we did last year, we travelled again to faraway lands to secure a bit of a spread for our yearling crop next year, and included among the four youngsters we acquired on that foray, were sons of Galileo and Tail Of The Cat.

Soldier of Fortune’s grand victory in Sunday’s Arc trial the Prix Niel (Gr.2) at Longchamps, and the top European Two Year Old Tail Of The Catperformance of the season from New Approach, whose smothered Godolphin’s hitherto unbeaten Rio De La Plata, in the National Stakes (Gr.1) later the same afternoon reminded us what an outstanding stallion is proving to be. If ever European breeders needed any assurance that the Sadler’s Wells legacy was in good hands, surely the deeds of Galileo and Montjeu must’ve taken ample care of it.

MontjeuAcross the “pond” at Belmont Park, USA, the Futurity Stakes (Gr 2) was being played out as a match between the favourite, the unbeaten Kodiak Cowboy and Tail Of The Cat’s son, Tail of Ekati. In the event, the latter got up for a convincing victory to place him at the top of the American Two Year Old rankings.

This leaves followers of the Summerhill yearling draft with the mouthwatering prospect of being able to acquire yearlings by these two exceptional international stallions in local currency at local prices. As we’ve said before, there’s no need to beat a path to Sydney. Just take the plane to Oliver Tambo, and we’ll pick you up!