We’re In For A Long Day
Historical headline (1): Cigar Hangs On in Desert Sand to Win 14th in Row.
That, of course, was from March 1996 when Cigar (by Palace Music from a Seattle Slew mare) won the inaugural Dubai World Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) on dirt at Nad Al Sheba.
The New York Times reported the victory as follows: “Cigar, the great American thoroughbred who traveled more than 6,000 miles to race here, held off a breathtaking stretch challenge tonight to win the $4,000,000 Dubai World Cup by half a length and collect racing’s richest prize.
“It was the 14th straight victory by the extraordinary six-year-old bay, but it also was by far the narrowest of that streak. Soul of the Matter closed from the outside to run eye to eye with Cigar with just three-sixteenths of a mile to go, and the jockey Jerry Bailey had to ask the horse for more than he had ever asked before.
“The triumph left Cigar just two victories short of the legendary Citation’s record of 16 consecutive victories, vaulted Cigar past Alysheba as racing’s career leading money winner and swelled his international reputation.”
Cigar went on to win his next two races, in the USA, and thus match the winning streak of Citation (Bull Lea) – a streak, of course, now matched by Winx (Street Cry) who could well be capable – this year – of bettering the 19 race winning run of Street Cry’s (Machiavellian) other magnificent daughter Zenyatta.
Often forgotten is that Australia had a runner in that first World Cup then of US$4,000,000. Danewin (Danehill), for trainer Bob Thomsen and jockey Damien Oliver, finished tenth of the 11 runners behind Cigar. He faded from the 600 metres after matching strides with Cigar early and, in fact, turning for home alongside the American champ.
Thomsen said, at the time: “He hadn’t enough experience of the sand (dirt) and he didn’t handle it. But, at one point, he was matching it with the best horse in the world and his jockey Jerry Bailey had a very worried look on his face.”
Projected headline (1): Arrogate smashes record World Cup winning margin in seventh straight win.
The Bob Baffert trained Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song) is unbeaten in six runs from 1700 metres to 2000 metres since his debut placing at 1200 metres.
He did win the Travers (Gr 1, 10f), at Saratoga last year, by 13.5 lengths and will have to do even better to eclipse the 14 lengths margin recorded by Well Armed (Tiznow) in the 2009 World Cup….but I wouldn’t be shocked if he does.
(Not quite so) historical headline (2): Qewy (Street Cry) adds to trainer Charlie Appleby’s spring riches with victory in Sandown Cup (Listed, 3200m).
Newmarket-based Appleby had ten starters through last year’s Melbourne spring carnival and won five races and his Scottish (Teofilo) beat all but Jameka (Myboycharlie) in the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m).
Tomorrow, he lines up The Gold Trial in the Mornington Cup (Listed, 2400m) and this son of Teofilo (Galileo) has vastly superior form to his rivals. That form is, of course, around Prize Money (Authorized) and Postponed (Dubawi) who contest tonight’s Sheema Classic (Gr 1, 2400m) as does the 2015 Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) third Highland Reel (Galileo).
Projected headline (2): Appleby does it again!
There’s been a raft of other headlines generated from today’s events. The Hareeba Stakes (Listed, 1200m) is also on the Mornington card and I recall Brian Burke, writing about Hareeba, in The Australian under the heading: “High Octane Hareeba – Out of this World”.
And, on occasions, the Ken Newman-trained son of Al Hareb (El Gran Senor) just that. Remarkably, he was a maiden after his first five starts but four of those were on wet tracks which he didn’t handle.
Even so, it was quite a turnaround when he appeared on a dry track for the first time in his second preparation – at Yarra Glen in October 1993 and won by eight lengths. He won his next three starts by an aggregate of 18 lengths and broke the Moonee Valley 1200 metre record in the process. He would go on to win six Group races including two at Group One level.
We could fill the publication with even a precis of the exploits of Tulloch (Khorassan), Emancipation (Bletchingly) and Star Kingdom (Star Dust) – after whom races are named at Rosehill tomorrow.
The Rosehill card, of course, also features the Neville Sellwood Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m)and Sellwood’s premature death gave us some of Australian racing’s saddest headlines such as: “Neville Sellwood: Australian Jockey Dies Tragically At 39 In Paris”.
Sellwood won The Derby (Gr 1, 1m4f) on Larkspur (Never Say Die) in 1962. A few months later, he was killed in a race fall at Maisons-Laffitte. Sellwood was leading the French jockeys’ championship at the time. Yves St. Martin, who won the title that year, later presented the trophy to Sellwood’s widow.
TODAY’S RACING: Best bet, Rosehill race three number three Astronomos (New Approach). Won five of six on affected ground, three of four at the distance and was a totally dominant winner when second-up so reasonable to expect more to come.
Parlay Formula 3 and 4: Mornington race 3 no 4; race 4 no 2; Rosehill race 3 no 3; Rosehill race 6 no 7.