On Poppy, from the DRC...
‘Expect a very different Seachange’ in the Dubai Duty Free
Connections of New Zealand’s champion mare Seachange have warned racegoers to expect a very different horse on Dubai World Cup night to the one that finished sixth on her UAE bow on March 6.
The seven-time Group 1-winning mare will line up for the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free, sponsored by Dubai Duty Free on March 29, and those involved with the five-year-old are confident she will improve considerably on her last run in the Group 2 Jebel Hatta on March 6.
Racing Manager Rick Williams believes the daughter of Cape Cross is fully capable of winning the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free run over 1,777m on the turf course here at Nad Al Sheba.
“She has improved a lot from the run as we expected she would and we anticipate she will run really well on the big night,” he said.
“She will be much fitter and hopefully we will get a better draw than what we had in the Jebel Hatta.”
The mare, who is prepared by New Zealand-based trainer Ralph Manning, was drawn 16 of 16 for her first race here in Dubai, but managed to battle on to score sixth place, just over two lengths behind the winner Lord Admiral.
“She had to use a bit of gas at the start of the race to overcome the draw but she ran on well until she gave out in the final 100m,” Williams continued.
“She came into the race after a four-week break which is not ideal for her as she’s a horse that needs to run every two weeks.
“We would have preferred to run her over 1400m first time up to get her fitness back but she has come out of the race well and is training up a storm in the mornings.”
The five-year-old mare will be bidding to make history for her home nation as the first New Zealand-trained horse to win at the Dubai World Cup meeting, a feat that Williams says would mark “a fantastic achievement for the entire racing and breeding industry in New Zealand”.
The Karreman Bloodstock flag-bearer will face a tough field in the US$5 million race with likely challenges from the star European fillies, Group 1 Prix du Moulin winner Darjina and Jim Bolger’s dual 1,000 Guineas heroine Finsceal Beo, Japanese hope Vodka, and Godolphin’s multiple Group 1 winner Ramonti.
Williams’ confidence is not diminished however, stating: “We appreciate some of the best horses in the world will show up but we expect her to be competitive.
“All indications are that she will be ready to give her best this time round. Expect a very different horse on Dubai World Cup night”.
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