歐伯賢有意派威利大師,狂野駒出戰杜拜賽事
2007 Caulfield Cup winner Master O’Reilly looks set for a tilt at the US$5m Dubai Sheema Classic (sponsored by Nakheel), following Danny O’Brien’s reconnaissance trip to Dubai last week.
The leading Aussie trainer visited the Nad Al Sheba facilities for the first time, and was suitably impressed to nominate three horses for the 2009 Dubai International Racing Carnival.
"Our (Australian) racing is really struggling now and some other spots around the world are going really well so you have to have a look at them," said the Flemington trainer.
"Our racing has been stagnant for the last five years and to keep your business going you have look overseas to get a better return for your owners.
"With the way the US dollar is, races over there are worth 50 per cent more than this time last year."
O’Brien also intends to send 2008 Caulfield Cup third Barbaricus for the Dubai Sheema Classic, a 2400-metre race run on turf on Dubai World Cup night on March 28.
He said Master O'Reilly would run in the Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 7 before being flown to Dubai, while Barbaricus would leave earlier for suitable lead-up races, along with Valedictum.
"Master O'Reilly will certainly run and we may take Barbaricus and Valedictum for some lead-up races," said O'Brien, who bids to follow in the footsteps of fellow Aussies Tony Vasil and Tony Noonan, who have plundered Dubai races.
"Barbaricus will probably head up there for the start of the carnival and have two or three lead-up runs into (the Sheema Classic) as his rating would allow him to do.
"It's a race that's no stronger than the Caulfield Cup if you go by recent years. It's on turf and early in the season for the Europeans.
"In the lead up to the World Cup meeting they have 10 weeks of racing and a lot of what we'd class as Listed or Group Three class races worth between $US150,000 to $US200,000 which is probably where Valedictum is now," O'Brien told AAP.
"He is probably a length short of the Group One races here and those were the races Tony Noonan's horses were very competitive in so he could go as a travelling companion for Barbaricus."
Noonan sent two horses to Dubai in 2007 with Benedetti winning two of his three starts there and Smart And Mighty one of his three appearances.
The Vasil-trained Elvstroem became the first Australian-trained horse to win in Dubai when he led all the way in the Dubai Duty Free (1777m) in 2005 with Nash Rawiller in the saddle.
威利大師會跑埋3月澳洲杯先前往杜拜出戰 Dubai Sheema Classic
[ 本帖最後由 asiadragon 於 3/12/2008 07:16 PM 編輯 ] | |
