International Diary

INTERNATIONAL DIARY

MARCH 21, 2006

by Kellie Reilly

With the approach of the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) program this Saturday,

we'll take the opportunity to unveil a new diary scouting the global racing

scene at key intervals in the season. Dubai World Cup Day is one of my favorites on the racing calendar, as we

get to see top-class performers from literally all over the world competing at a

variety of distances on both turf and dirt. I've chosen to spotlight the

international contenders that I find most intriguing in the day's richest three races -- the

World Cup, Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE-G1) and Dubai Duty Free (UAE-G1). (The

upcoming installment of the Turf Diary will look at the American hopefuls in the

grass races.)

Dubai World Cup -- Multiple Group 1 hero ELECTROCUTIONIST (Red

Ransom) was riveting in his first start on the dirt, drawing off to a

seven-length victory in the 1 1/4-mile Maktoum Challenge Round 3 S. (UAE-G2),

the last local tune-up for the marquee event. That was also his debut sporting

the royal blue Godolphin silks. Formerly based in Italy, Electrocutionist has

impeccable credentials on the turf. He successfully invaded England to capture

last year's Juddmonte International S. (Eng-G1) at the expense of then-reigning

Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy, and as a three-year-old in 2004 making

his fourth career start, he lost by just a nose in the Gran Premio del Jockey

Club Italiano (Ity-G1) on very soft ground. The horse who barely got the best of

him that day was Shirocco (Ger) (Monsun), who won our Breeders' Cup Turf (G1)

last fall. Now that Electrocutionist has proven that he can transfer his ability

to the main track, this supremely talented campaigner, who's seven for nine

lifetime, will give Sheikh Mohammed's home team its best chance in the World Cup

since Moon Ballad (Ire) won it in 2003. A deserving favorite, he is definitely

the one they all have to beat.

The other international horse with a live shot at the trophy is Japan's Dirt

Horse of the Year, KANE HEKILI (Fuji Kiseki), winner of the 1 5/16-mile

Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-G1) last November. Then only a three-year-old, he had to

call on every ounce of his courage to prevail by a nostril at the wire. This

grandson of Sunday Silence recently returned to land the February S. (Jpn-G1) at

one mile on the dirt in stylish fashion, cruising comfortably in near

track-record time. The chestnut also made a more impressive physical appearance

than he did last autumn and has probably improved as a four-year-old. His

trainer, Katsuhiko Sumii, knows exactly how to prepare a horse for international

contests. He's the mastermind behind Cesario's (Jpn) (Special Week) impressive

coup in the American Invitational Oaks (G1). To get an early indicator of how

the Japanese dirt form is holding up on World Cup Day, watch how February third

UTOPIA (Forty Niner) fares in the Godolphin Mile (UAE-G2) on the

undercard.

Although unlikely to beat his fellow countryman, on his best day, STAR

KING MAN (Kingmambo) could hit the board at high odds. An agonizingly close

third to Kane Hekili in the Japan Cup Dirt, his last race in the February is a

complete throw-out because he missed the break and lost all chance thereafter.

Trainer Hideyuki Mori, whose horses have won Group 1 races in France and England

in the past, believes that the World Cup distance of 1 1/4 miles is ideal for

him. Note that Kent Desormeaux, who rode him in the Japan Cup Dirt, will

reportedly be back

aboard.

Dubai Duty Free -- For sheer depth, from top to bottom, the field for

this nearly 1 1/8-mile turf prize is the most contentious on the card. It's a

tricky, in-between distance, even though it's officially the second leg of the

Asian "Mile" Challenge (AMC). A logical case can be made for almost

all of the expected competitors, and it would take reams of paper to do justice

to this superb group. If I can't do justice, I will try to hit the high points

for those I feel most strongly about.

The English-based DAVID JUNIOR (Pleasant Tap) scored a smart victory

in the Champion S. (Eng-G1) as a three-year-old last October, defeating older

horses, and the form of that race was convincingly upheld when the second- and

third-place finishers came back to fill those identical placings behind the

all-conquering Vengeance of Rain (Zabeel) in the Hong Kong Cup (HK-G1). He has

long been held in the highest regard by his connections, but the key question is

the cut-back in trip from the 1 1/4 miles at which he's been so successful. I

think he'll handle the shorter distance because he made his winning move rather

early in the Champion and then stayed on strongly. Moreover, his dam is a full

sister to 1994 champion turf horse Paradise Creek (Irish River [Fr]) and a

half-sister to Grade 1 winners Wild Event (Wild Again) and Forbidden Apple

(Pleasant Colony), all of whom were effective at a variety of distances on the

grass. David Junior is a serious horse who will likely be sent off at attractive

odds.

The lovable Australian senior citizen FIELDS OF OMAGH (Rubiton) is

entering on a high, having captured the one-mile Futurity S. (Aus-G1), the AMC's

first leg, in course-record time at Caulfield. He therefore stands to rake in a

$1 million bonus if he takes the Duty Free. A grand battler, as game as they

come, he's amazingly returned from serious injuries to continue making a mark at

the highest level. In the last three runnings of the coveted Cox Plate (Aus-G1),

at a shade beyond 1 1/4 miles, he won it in 2003, was second in 2004, and was

third to the already-legendary Makybe Diva (Desert King) in 2005. His formline

reads like a "Who's Who" of contemporary Australian racing. Although he hasn't

fared well in previous overseas trips, those were on right-handed tracks at the

tail end of a hard campaign. This time, FOO (as he's charmingly dubbed) is

fresh, gets to run left-handed, and will like the trip. I had underestimated

this horse a couple of years ago, and I don't want to be caught on the wrong

side of him again. He's the one you want in a dogfight.

The Hong Kong-trained RUSSIAN PEARL (Soviet Star), a stablemate of

fellow Duty Free hopeful BULLISH LUCK (Royal Academy) from the Tony Cruz

barn, is another who's shown world-class form after recovering from injuries,

and he's a horse I would love to see do well. Russian Pearl is a Group 1 winner

at a mile both in his native New Zealand and in Hong Kong, but what makes him

remarkable to me is that, after an eight-month layoff without the benefit of a

prep race, he ran a tremendous fourth in the aforementioned 1 1/4-mile Hong Kong Cup against a top international field last December. Throw out his last race in Hong

Kong, which had a farcically slow pace. While

Bullish Luck received international attention for inflicting the first defeat on

his Cruz-trained stablemate Silent Witness (El Moxie) last year, Russian Pearl

is flying under the radar and shapes up a fascinating longshot. Cruz has said

that the Duty Free distance is ideal for Russian Pearl, whom he characterized as

a "Mini Cooper with a Porsche engine."

HAT TRICK (Sunday Silence), a stablemate of Kane Hekili, closed the

year in brilliant style with late-charging victories in the Mile Championship

(Jpn-G1) and the Hong Kong Mile (HK-G1). His 2006 reappearance at Nakayama

doesn't tell us anything about his current form, as the deck was stacked against

him -- soft ground, short stretch -- and he was never in the hunt. Over

better ground at Nad al Sheba, and a long straight for his closing kick, he

looms a big danger and could be part of an historic night for Japan.

Finally, I can't leave this race without mentioning the novelty of two full

sisters squaring off in a Group 1 race, IRRIDESCENCE (Caesour) and

PERFECT PROMISE (Caesour). Of the two, I prefer Team Valor's Irridescence,

primarily because she'll appreciate the distance and already has a win at Nad al

Sheba. Irridescence's South African form is impeccable, and the inevitable

comparisons will likely be made with Ipi Tombe (Zim) (Manshood), who won this

race in 2003, but this field is tougher than the one Ipi Tombe annihilated.

Dubai Sheema Classic -- Champion and dual classic heroine OUIJA

BOARD (GB) (Cape Cross [Ire]) will be difficult to beat in this 1 1/2-mile

turf event if she duplicates her effort in the Hong Kong Vase (HK-G1). In that

outing in December, her devastating acceleration was a beauty to behold.

As she rocketed past, she made an accomplished field of males look like

claimers, and she left no doubt that she's fully recovered from the injury that

sidelined her for the heart of the European season in 2005. Partly because of

that setback, we did not see the real Ouija Board in the Breeders' Cup Filly &

Mare Turf (G1) -- it was only her second start back, run over a shorter trip

than she prefers. Jockey Kieren Fallon admitted that he moved her far too soon

in her next start, the Japan Cup (Jpn-G1), in which she threatened in upper

stretch before tiring to finish fifth. Fallon did not make that mistake in Hong

Kong, and he won't make it again.

She will have to produce her absolute best, however, to turn the tables on

the outstanding Japanese horse HEART'S CRY (Sunday Silence), who finished

well ahead of her in the Japan Cup. On that day, Heart's Cry came flying late

and just missed by a whisker, with the aforementioned Zenno Rob Roy back in

third, former European champion Bago (Fr) only eighth, and America's own Better

Talk Now (Talkin Man) 12th. Heart's Cry then famously came right back to upset

the previously unbeaten Triple Crown winner Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) in the

Arima Kinen (Jpn-G1) on Christmas Day. One of his most attractive qualities is

that he's adaptable to circumstances: when a hot pace developed in the Japan

Cup, he loped along near the tail of the field, but when there was no pace in

the Arima Kinen, he took up a forward tracking position and got the jump on the

deep-closing Deep Impact. In short, he can carve out his own trip. Trainer

Kojiro Hashiguchi has said that he didn't want to race overseas until he had a

runner "good enough to represent Japan," adding that he's "confident of great

things" if he remains fit and well (quotes from japanracing.jp). As Heart's

Cry is not as well known in North America, he will likely offer much more value

than Ouija Board and should go off at a decent price.

The Sheema field includes several other top-flight competitors,

all of them worthy and capable of a big run on their day, but I've long been a

fan of the magnificent

South African GREYS INN (Zabeel).

Conditioned by the Dubai Carnival's current leading trainer Michael de Kock,

Greys Inn captured the prestigious Durban July (SAf-G1) along with two legs of

the South African Triple Crown in 2004. He set off on an international campaign

last year with mixed results. After winning the 2005 Dubai City of Gold S.

(UAE-G3), he disappointed de Kock (and me) by checking in fourth in last year's Sheema.

Greys Inn then bounced back with an outstanding second to the supremo Vengeance of Rain in Hong Kong's Queen Elizabeth II Cup (HK-G1), but

did not enjoy himself at all in Australia and ran well below his best there. So

far in 2006, Greys Inn has shown that he's over that misadventure with a strong

second in his tune-up, the nearly 1 1/8-mile Al Rashidiya (UAE-G3) at Nad al Sheba,

closing beautifully over a distance a trifle short for him and going down by a

half-length to the vastly improved LINNGARI (Indian Ridge), who came back

to land the Al Fahidi Fort (UAE-G2) and is a threat in Saturday's Dubai Duty

Free. I'm expecting Greys Inn to turn in the kind of world-class performance

he's capable of to crack the top three, and with such a stellar field, he's

likely to be overlooked in the wagering.