Assorted stuff from the UAE.....
Student Council, Daaher could clash before World Cup
Two of the top American contenders for the Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) turned in impressive workouts on Saturday on opposites coasts, with Daaher firing a five-furlong bullet in Florida and Student Council drilling a mile in California.
Although the two Grade 1 winners had appeared to be on different paths to the United Arab Emirates, it now appears possible that they might meet before the Dubai World Cup.
Vladimir Cerin, who trains Student Council for Millennium Farms, said he will consider either the San Antonio Handicap (Gr.2) on February 3 at Santa Anita Park or the Donn Handicap (Gr.1) on February 2 at Gulfstream Park for the six-year-old son of Kingmambo. Both races are conducted at 1 1/8 miles.
The Donn already has been selected by trainer Kiaran McLaughlin as the next start for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Daaher, a four-year-old son of Awesome Again. Sheikh Hamdan and McLaughlin sent Invasor to a Donn triumph last year prior to their win in the Dubai World Cup.
Other possible Dubai World Cup candidates also have been mentioned for the Donn by their trainers. Steve Asmussen has said he plans to nominate Breeders’ Cup Classic (Gr.1) winner Curlin to the Donn prior to a possible trip to Dubai and Todd Pletcher said he was pointing both Grade 2 winner A. P. Arrow and Grade 3 winner Fairbanks to the Donn after nominating both to the Dubai World Cup.
Meanwhile, Student Council completed his one-mile workout in 1:38 on the Cushion Track at Santa Anita.
“I’m very happy with it,” Cerin said of the move.
Several hours earlier, Daaher traveled five furlongs in :59.80, fastest of 23 workers at the distance at Palm Meadows Training Center.
Champion Kiwi Seachange steering for Dubai
Champion New Zealand mare Seachange ran a near world-record time for 1200-metres when claiming her sixth Group One win in the Telegraph Handicap at Trentham in Wellington.
Her prime target now is the $US5 million Dubai Duty Free (1777m) in the United Arab Emirates on March 29, according to
www.racingandsports.com.au.
Jockey Gavin McKeon had an easy explanation for the five-year-old's scintillating time of 1:06.66.
"She's a champion," he said.
Seachange burst clear of her rivals in the straight on a lightning-fast track to score by 3-1/2 lengths and post a time little more than a tenth of a second outside the world mark of 1:06.51 set by Bawalaksana in the same race in 1999.
The 1200m dogleg course at Trentham is the fastest in New Zealand. It is slightly downhill and today's race was wind assisted.
Seachange, having her first start for 12 weeks today, started $2.40 favourite and from the number three draw ended up with a perfect run, trailing leader Clifton Prince.
McKeon bided his time until well into the home straight before asking her to lengthen stride.
"Then I let her go and she just exploded away," he said.
Seachange quickly put the issue beyond doubt as she burst clear of the others and was being eased down at the finish.
Some rival trainers said Seachange was leniently treated with 58.5kg topweight but McKeon said the form the horse was in today it would not have mattered if she had four-kilos more.
"There were those that were complaining that 58-1/2 wasn't much. Well, she could have carried 62-1/2 and it wouldn't have mattered. She was just far too good for them."
Seachange's record is now 23 starts for 13 wins, four seconds and two thirds. Today's winning purse of $NZ150,000 took her earnings to $NZ1.44 million.
It was her sixth win at Group One level following the One Thousand Guineas and two wins in both the Mudgway Stakes and Stoney Bridge Stakes at the last two Hawke's Bay spring meetings.
The Cape Cross five-year-old mare is owned in Queensland by Dick Karreman who was overwhelmed by today's win.
"It's an incredible feeling to be the owner of a horse like this," Karreman said after the race.
"Words cannot really describe how one feels with a horse like Seachange."
Seachange's next race will be the Group One $NZ200,000 weight-for-age Waikato Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa, Hamilton, on February 9.
She could also take in the Group One Otaki Weight-For-Age over the same distance for the same money at Otaki, north of Wellington, on February 22 but could bypass that for an international campaign.
All going well, Seachange could then head to England for two major sprints before being retired to stud next spring.
Second in the Telegraph today was Kay's Awake who ran on well from the rear while third was Maximum Star who was handy in the running.
Champs Elysees strolls in Santa Anita stakes
Juddmonte Farms’ superbly bred Champs Elysees, a full brother to two champions, scored the most significant win of his career to date when landing the US$150,000 San Marcos Stakes (Gr.2) on the firm turf course at Santa Anita Park on Saturday.
Reserved at the rear of the six-horse field through a mile as Ramazutti set the pace, Champs Elysees accelerated four wide coming out of the far turn and drew away after feeling a slap from Garrett Gomez’s whip to win by 1 ¼ lengths over Rocket Legs. Obrigado, who competed in the 2007 Dubai Sheema Classic (Gr.1), finished third.
Trainer Bobby Frankel indicated after the victory that Champs Elysees is best suited to longer distances than the 1 ¼ miles of the San Marcos, which he covered in 2:00.88. Thus, he could become a candidate for this year’s Dubai Sheema Classic at 2,400 meters, although Frankel was not ready to commit to a future agenda.
“I thought he ran well,” Frankel said of the five-year-old British-bred by Danehill out of the outstanding broodmare Hasili, who also produced his full sister champions Banks Hill and Intercontinental. “The pace was slow and he had to come wide, but he finished good.”
“He’s a true professional,” praised Gomez.
Champs Elysees began his career in Europe with trainer Andre Fabre and last year won the 2,400-meter Prix d’Hedouville (Gr.3) at Longchamp and finished second in the 2,800-meter Prix Maurice de Nieuil (Gr.2) over the same course.
The San Marcos marked Champs Elysees’ second start in the United States, following a troubled runner-up effort to Sunriver in the Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (Gr.1) on December 8.
Also a full brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Cacique and Group 2 winner and sire Dansili and a half brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Heat Haze, Champs Elysees has won three of 13 starts and placed eight times while earning $400,647.
Juddmonte and Frankel have previously sent horses to run on the Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) program, including Aptitude and Public Purse, who both competed in the world’s richest race.
The San Marcos has been a springboard for other horses on their way to compete in Dubai World Cup program turf races. The Tin Man won the 2006 edition of the San Marcos before finishing a gallant second in the Dubai Duty Free (Gr.1).
Asiatic Boy makes surprise return on Thursday
Asiatic Boy, winner of the UAE Triple Crown last year, will make his 2008 return in the Group 3 Al Shindagha Sprint, the six-furlong dirt feature at next week’s second meeting of the 2008 Dubai International Racing Carnival.
The winner of all four of his UAE races last season, culminating in the UAE Derby in March, his main target this year is the world’s richest horse race, the $6million Dubai World Cup and his campaign is set to start this week.
Speaking on Dubai Eye, De Kock explained: “The plan is, all being well, to run him in the Al Shindagha Sprint next Thursday. Like the Australians, we South Africans often bring horses back in sprints even though they are better over further.
“He is naturally very talented and has a lot of pace so we think he will be very competitive, even over the shorter trip. The Word Cup is his target and a long way off.
“We will see how he gets on Thursday and then probably look at one of the rounds of the Maktoum Challenge.”