Deep Impact update, from Racing Post.....
Deep Impact heading straight to the Arc
by Nicholas Godfrey
JAPANESE superstar Deep Impact is likely tohead straight for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe without the benefit of another run, either at home or in Europe.
The four-year-old, spectacular winner of Japan’s Triple Crown in 2005, is set to arrive in France in mid-August prior to his tilt at the Longchamp showpiece, for which he is a best-priced 5-1 third-favourite.
Although it had been suggested that the son of Sunday Silence would race twice in Europe, probably with a prep run in a race like the Prix Foy, trainer Yasuo Ikee appears to be ruling out that option. “Right now, he will only run one race and that is the Arc,” said the trainer.
“At present, I am totally focused on the main target. The Prix Foy is only about a couple of weeks before the Arc; if the gap was a month and a half to two months it would be a different scenario altogether. However, I don’t feel that there is any need to make him run at every opportunity that comes along.”
Ikee outlined his plans in an interview for the July edition of the Japan Racing Association’s Yushun (itals) magazine, translated from the original on the JRA’s website.
Instead of a prep race, Ikee suggested he was keen to give Deep Impact a racecourse gallop at Longchamp. “Prior to the main event, I want to make Deep Impact to get to know the racecourse ground,” he said. “If we were allowed to run the horse around the Longchamp course, this of course would be a definite plus.”
Quarantine restrtictions mean Deep Impact is likely to arrive in Europe in about a month’s time. “If Deep Impact stays in France for over two months, the quarantine period when we return to Japan may take three months,” explained Ikee. ”If that happens, the horse will end up missing the autumn racing season in Japan. Therefore, in order to limit our stay to less than two months, we count back from the day of the Arc, which is October 1, so I reckon that Deep Impact will leave Japan around August 10. “I’ll be in France for the first 10 days after Deep Impact’s arrival. It will be just like being in Ritto , I will get a feel for the place and return home. As this is likely to be a once in a lifetime chance, I’m using all my energy and hurling myself into the Arc experience!"
Although the King George was at one time considered a possible target for Deep Impact, the Ascot race was soon ruled out, leaving compatriot Heart’s Cry - the horse who inflicted the sole defeat of his career in last year’s Arima Kinen - to do the honours on Japan’s behalf.
Ikee said: “I had discussions with the owner, and eventually we reached the same conclusion that Deep Impact would run in the Arc, rather than Ascot. Our reasoning was that the even surface of the course at Longchamp and the timing of the event best suited the horse.
“Yutaka Take also suggested Longchamp, and it certainly wasn’t the case that Ascot was unsuitable, but that Deep Impact would find the Longchamp course more comfortable.”
Ikee is certainly looking forward to Deep Impact’s appearance in the Arc, which has garnered huge interest at home. “Horsemen all over the world set their sights on this race, and for me too being from overseas, it is the race that I want to win most,” he said. “Even now when I think about actually taking part, it gives me a huge thrill. I will do my best for Japan.”
NEXT year’s Dubai World Cup meeting will take place on Saturday March 24 at Nad Al Sheba.
The Emirates Racing Authority on Monday confirmed the 2006-07 UAE fixture list, featuring a total of 47 meetings spread between four tracks: Nad Al Sheba, Sharjah, Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi, where racing will take place on Saturdays rather than Sundays.
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