Trainer Mike de Kock has a powerful pair at Nad Al Sheba on Friday night, when he will saddle Yard-Arm and Greys Inn in the Al Fahidi Fort, a one-mile Group 3 prep for the Dubai Duty Free.
Both of de Kock's South African raiders are multiple Group 1 winners at home, where Greys Inn, last year's South African Derby champ, beat Yard-Arm by six lengths into ninth place in the prestigious Durban July Handicap.
Jamie Spencer has resigned as stable jockey for Ballydoyle, the internationally prominent Irish outfit overseen by trainer Aidan O'Brien.
Spencer announced his departure in a statement on Sunday. The move came after a year in which the 24-year-old Spencer came under frequent criticism, most notably for his performances aboard Powerscourt in the Arlington Million and the Breeders' Cup Turf.
Hong Kong invader Cape of Good Hope meets some of Australia's best sprinters in Saturday's $390,000 Lightning Stakes at Flemington, the scene of the first leg of the inaugural six-race Global Sprint Challenge.
Second most recently behind the undefeated Silent Witness in the Hong Kong Sprint on Dec. 12, Cape of Good Hope had previously acquitted himself well in England, finishing second in the King's Stand Stakes and third in the July Cup. The five-furlong distance of the Group 1 Lightning suits him, but he will have to overcome a wide 13-of-14 draw. Michael Kinane has the ride.
Hipodromo de las Americas in Mexico City will open a mixed meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses on Friday. The meet will run through Dec. 18.
During the season, 67 stakes will be decided, and among the richest events for Thoroughbreds are the Handicap de las Americas in May and the Mexican Derby in July. There are also several major stakes for Quarter Horses.
Lone Star Park near Dallas was a racing adviser to Hipodromo through 2003. The historic facility has undergone a number of renovations in recent years.
Zenno Rob Roy has been named Japanese Horse of the Year for 2004 by the Japan Racing Association. A son of Sunday Silence, the colt ended his 4-year-old season by becoming the only horse other the than all-time leading money-earner, T.M. Opera O, to land the Autumn Tenno Sho-Japan Cup-Arima Kinen triple.
Trained by Kazuo Fujisawa, who took honors as Japan's leading trainer, Zenno Rob Roy also was named best older horse.
NEW YORK - The reduction in distance of the Prix du Jockey-Club, or French Derby, from 1 1/2 miles to 1 5/16 miles is an act of high-handedness rarely seen in the history of horse racing.
In a move that smacks of self-aggrandizement, Baron Edouard de Rothschild, president of France Galop, the ruling body of French racing, has lopped 1 1/2 furlongs from a major international classic that had been run at a distance of 12 furlongs since its inception in 1836. He did so without offering any viable reasons for doing so other than his will to make the change.
Locally trained Dubai horses took the first three places in the listed Al Shindagha Sprint at Nad Al Sheba on Thursday night as Estimraar zoomed to a three-length score.
Trained by Mazin Al Kurdi, Estimraar led throughout, covering the straight six furlongs of this $150,000 prep for the Dubai Golden Shaheen in 1:10.88 as Conroy and Tropical Star took second and third. A Mike de Kock-trained South African invader, Key of Destiny, was fourth, 5 3/4 lengths behind the winner.