DUBAI WORLD CUP NIGHT OF NIGHTS - Meydan 30 March

St Nicholas Abbey Sets His Sheema Classic Record Straight


St Nicholas Abbey gained sweet compensation for his second-place finish in this race last year when storming down the Meydan straight to take the Group 1 US$5m Dubai Sheema Classic, presented by Longines.

Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by his son Joseph, St Nicholas Abbey crossed the line two and a quarter lengths to the good of Japan’s three-year-old champion filly and Japan Cup winner of 2012 Gentildonna in the hands of Yutaka Take, stopping the clock in 2:27.7 seconds, another course record time.

Ridden more closely to the pace this year than last, when runner up to Cirrus des Aigles, St Nicholas Abbey was settled in second place behind Shareta (Christophe Lemaire), who broke the mare alertly from the inside post, and set an honest pace in front. Gentildonna  under Take tracked St Nicholas Abbey in third, from Royal Diamond, and the second Japanese contender, Trailblazer.

The race order remained largely unchanged until the turn into the home straight, when Lemaire asked Shareta for her effort, a move that was quickly covered by Joseph O’Brien on the winner.

Gentildonna  challenged on the outside and it looked for a moment as if she might mount a serious challenge to St Nicholas Abbey, before it became clear that St Nicholas Abbey had too much in reserve, and ran on to score with a little in hand from Gentildonna.

Qatar’s runner Very Nice Name did best of the rest, running on for third under Olivier Peslier a length and a quarter further back, with the 2011 Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden (Jamie Spencer) who was last of all in the early part of the race making ground for fourth.  Await The Dawn finished fifth, with the pace setting Shareta holding on for sixth.

Joseph O’Brien said afterwards, “ There didn’t seem to be much obvious pace and (part owner) Derrick Smith said maybe we should ride him a bit further forward this time. This horse is very tough, very special, he gives his best every day, relaxes and finds plenty. It turns out you can ride him any way you want.”

Yasunari  Iwata on Gentildonna said of his horse “ She ran very well today and was in good form. She travelled a little wide and that maybe cost me a bit, and that’s maybe why she couldn’t catch the winner.”

Congrats to Barry Irwin and all his team ... like he said in the interview it's been an up-and-down ride with Animal Kingdom, but he always believed in the horse's quality ... just a case of getting him right, and tonight was the night! Great to see it.

The Madji Wrote:

---

> I will have an each way on Red Cadeaux in the big
> one.


What a pleasant surprise... put 20 swingers Red Cadeuax and Animal Kingdom and roved the two in a small percentage quartet..swinger paid R81 : :..quartie paid R26k .... account topped up for a Clairwood onslaught....

Nice one Madji, nice one son, nice one Madji, let's have another one

All together now..........nice one Madji ......

The Madji Wrote:

---

> The Madji Wrote:
>

---

>

---

> > I will have an each way on Red Cadeaux in the
> big
> > one.
>
>
> What a pleasant surprise... put 20 swingers Red
> Cadeuax and Animal Kingdom and roved the two in a
> small percentage quartet..swinger paid R81 :
> :..quartie paid R26k .... account topped up for
> a Clairwood onslaught....


Must have helped the hangover....-)-D

Any breeding expects or people with an eye think Soft Falling Rain will go further?
I haven't watched the race yet, so am unable to even gv my 2cents

Will it go further? Yes Ascot

What a double for South Africa on World Cup night!
Posted on 30 Mar 2013
Shea Shea went off hot favourite in the $1-million Al Quoz over 1000m and gave owners Brian Joffe and Myron Berzack the thrill of a lifetime as he zipped onto the scene late to land the biggest success of his career.
Joy And Fun and Eagle Regiment were in the vanguard from the off and had the race by the scruff of the neck racing into the final 200m. Shea Shea, dropped off the pace early by Christophe Soumillon as expected, was beginning to close but still had a big job ahead of him. The five-year-old proved more than equal to the task though and closed hand over fist late, storming ahead to win by 0.75 lengths under an ice-cool ride by Soumillon. Shea Shea stopped the clock in a course record 56.41 sec with Joy And Fun second and 0.75 lengths ahead of Eagle Regiment.
An elated Joffe jumped into De Kock’s arms as Shea Shea made his way back to the parade ring. “Unbelievable. I thought he could never get to them in time,” said Joffe.
“I was confident,” said Soumillon. “He likes to come late and catch them on the line and it worked out perfectly.”
De Kock said that Shea Shea, bred at Klavervlei Stud, would now go to Royal Ascot for the King Stand Stakes.

SOFT FALLING RAIN LOOKS A PICTURE IN PRELIMINARIES. PHOTO: NICCI GARNER
Two hours earlier Soft Falling Rain had given De Kock a flying start to Dubai World Cup 2013 when he turned in a gutsy display to capture the first of the eight races for thoroughbreds, the $1-million Godolphin Mile.
It was Soft Falling Rain’s seventh success in as many starts and this unbeaten son of National Assembly now heads for Royal Ascot and the Queen Anne Stakes or the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
A wide draw always threatened problems for Highlands-bred Soft Falling Rain and he was soon several lengths back and trapped wide as Alpha and Red Jazz showed the way.
Soft Falling Rain cornered wide into the straight and looked in all sorts of trouble as Haatheq swept into a decisive lead, but the three-year-old South African-bred dug deep, and steadily but surely reeled in the leader. He edged ahead well inside the final 200m to score by 0.75 lengths with Moonwalk In Paris a length further back.
“What a thrill. This ranks with my best-ever wins,” said jockey Paul Hanagan. De Kock, who was landing his 10th win at Dubai World Cup, said: “I’ve always rated this horse. He was in all sorts of trouble at the top of the straight, but dug down deep. It was a massive win.”
Godolphin’s Cavalryman blew the opposition away in the $1-million Dubai Gold Cup over 3200m.
Saddler’s Rock did most of the donkey work ahead of Tenebaum, Seismos, Ahzeemah, Imperial Monarch and Cavalryman and for a while in the straight it was anybody’s race.
But once Silvestre De Sousa asked Cavalryman to run 400m out, the seven-year-old took command and swept clear to win by a decisive three lengths.
Soumillon, who partners many of De Kock’s international runners, kicked off the meeting with a victory on Al Mamun Monlau in the 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic.
Versac looked all over a winner for a few strides when he swept ahead 400m out, but Soumillon extracted a sustained finish from Al Mamun Monlay, who got up to snatch the verdict by a nose.
Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien took the UAE Derby for the second year running , this time with Lines Of Battle.
The War Front colt was up with the pace from the off under Ryan Moore as first Shuruq, then Law Enforcement and finally Snowboarder led, but the Irish-based horse took the lead at the 400m mark and ran on to win well by 1.50 lengths.
Ireland also took second place with Elleval, trained by David Marnane (brother of Racing Express’ Dubai tipster Ed Marnane) with Godolphin’s Secret Number putting a great effort to finish two lengths back in third after making a hash of the start and having to race at the back.
“He missed the break,” said Secret Number’s rider Silvestre de Sousa. “I was further back than I wanted to be. I had to come wide and then he ran on well, but it just wasn’t his night.”
Winning jockey Ryan Moore said: “They cantered to halfway and it was a farce of a race. My horse was only doing what he needed to.”
O’Brien won the $1-million UAE Derby in 2012 with Daddy Long Legs, breaking the stranglehold that Godolphin trainer Saeed Bin Suroor and De Kock had held on the race since it was first run in 2000. He said that Lines Of Battle would now head for the Kentucky Derby.
“We wanted the race to be true run, which it wasn’t. So it was a good win by him,” O’Brien said.
Reynaldothewizard, up with pace throughout in the $2-million Dubai Golden Shaheen, took command shortly after the runners cornered and plugged on gamely to beat Ireland’s Balmont Mast, who came from behind and failed by only a neck.
Krypton Factor also finished strongly for third, while De Kock’s runner Kavanagh failed to quicken and finished sixth.
Richard Mullen, who rode the Satish Seemar-trained seven-year-old, said: “I had the perfect trip. He was always travelling well. He gave me everything in the straight. This is the best winner of my career. It’s unbelievable.”

Iv watched the Dubai Duty Free for abt 20times now, and using pause and rewind and forwardwind on youtube, I can't for the life of me see how Igugu was placed 5th and not 4th..can some1 pls check, cz I thnk maybe I'm mad