There will be plenty of racing action from Meydan on Thursday to keep South African fans on the edge of their seats. The evening’s topliner is the Al Fahidi Fort, a Gr2 feature which Mike de Kock has won six times since 2003. The race also hosts the international debut of the Paul Lafferty-trained Harry’s Son.
Harry’s Son
The feature will be broadcast live on Tellytrack at 18h45 and multiple SA Champion jockey Piere Strydom will take the ride on the Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes winner, who will be the Summerveld-based Lafferty’s first runner in Dubai.
Strydom returns to SA for Saturday’s Investec Day Of Dreams at Kenilworth.
Mike de Kock regards this as an average renewal of the contest, yet believes it won’t be easy to win with any of the stable’s runners Royal Ridge (Richard Mullen), Mastermind (Wayne Smith) Tellina (Sam Hitchcott) and Anaerobio (Christophe Soumillon).
Speaking on his website, De Kock said:
“Royal Ridge is out at the ratings, he ran well on dirt last time and reverts to turf, we’ll be looking for a fair run and some more improvement, but not expecting him to challenge for top honours. Mastermind is a nice horse with good form, he ran very well at last year’s Carnival, won over the course and distance and was Listed placed, but he takes a massive step up in class. Time will tell if he’s up to it.
Tellina has first run for De Kock
“Tellina will be having his first run for us and his first in Dubai. We’re happy with him, he seems to have settled in well but this is a trip too short. We have other races in mind for him this season and he hasn’t shown us much in work so far, but he has class. I have a feeling he is the type of horse who reserves his best for race days and we’re looking forward to seeing what he has to offer.
“As far Anaerobio, he’s a game old soldier, eight years old and still going strong. He and Christophe won this race in 2014 so he is capable. If he can produce near his best at this stage of his career he will be in with a chance.”
