Cape Verdi field re-opposes in Balanchine
Haras de la Perelle’s eye-catching G2 Cape Verdi S. winner Cladocera (Ger) (Oasis Dream {GB}) faces eight rivals in the G2 Balanchine S. over an extra 200 meters and giving weight to the entire field. The Alain de Royer Dupre trainee produced one of the most visually impressive performances of this year’s Dubai World Cup Carnival when powering to a two-length victory in the Cape Verdi, without Christophe Soumillon even going to the whip. She will be bidding to present French-based trainers and Juddmonte sires with a second straight victory in the Balanchine, following success by Pia Brandt’s L’Amour De Ma Vie (Dansili {GB}) last year.
Six of Cladocera’s Cape Verdi pursuers re-oppose in the Balanchine, including the runner-up, Richard Hannon Jnr’s Zurigha (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}). While the 5-year-old was defeated on level weight three weeks ago, she will be hoping to reverse the tables courtesy of her weight advantage this time around. The master of Everleigh stables said on his website, “Zurigha has already had two runs and we were delighted how well she shaped when second to Cladocera in the Cape Verdi last time.” “Cladocera is a good mare, but we now get a three-pound pull for a couple of lengths, so there should not be much between the pair and Zurigha has been looking good at morning exercise,” the trainer added of his charge who is, somewhat surprisingly, officially rated higher than her main opponent – 105 against 102.
French import Anahita (Fr) (Turtle Bowl {Ire}), a listed performer in her home country who cost Anthony Stroud €180,000 at Arqana’s 2014 Arc Sale, ran a pleasing third in the Cape Verdi, another couple of lengths behind Zurigha. Anahita is now trained by 23-year-old rookie trainer Salem bin Ghadayer, a former endurance rider who was recently appointed as private trainer to Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s Crown Prince. Bin Ghadayer’s new career has been off to a highly promising start, his stable of only six horses notably scoring in the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round II courtesy of fellow Arc Sale purchase Frankyfourfingers (Fr) (Sunday Break {Jpn}).
The only Balanchine contenders not to have prepped in the Cape Verdi are Marco Botti’s Energia Fox (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}) and Turkish raider Suzi Gold (Tur) (Banknote {GB}). The former, like Botti’s other runner Energia Fribby (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}), sports the famous colors of Swedish-born, Brazilian-based Stefan Friborg, which Gloria de Campeao (Brz) (Impression {Arg}) carried to victory in the 2010 Dubai World Cup. Energia Fox raced in Brazil until the Summer of 2014 when she was transferred to the UK. A third a listed level on Lingfield’s all-weather track has been her career best so far, and she ran a distant seventh to Satish Seemar’s Toolain (Ire) (Diktat {GB}) on her Meydan debut, Jan. 22. 4-year-old Suzi Gold is an exciting candidate who will be making her first start outside Turkey. The Kamil Arda trainee is a star in her native country, having won 8 of her 16 outings including the Presidency Cup, a local Group 1, on her last public appearance Oct. 26. Connections have been upbeat about their champion’s chances, notably stressing her ability to run well returning from a lay-off.