Meet the horses!

[my miss storm cat]

Random bits, pieces, background, etc., on some of the lesser-knowns, in or heading to Dubai.

Feel free to add anyone in and any article, link, replay, etc.

From South African Racing.....


THE SUN CLASSIQUE STORY

Top class South African filly Sun Classique, now plying her trade in Dubai with great success has a rich pedigree and heritage.

The Australian bred filly won the Listed Balanchine Stakes at Nad Al Sheba on Friday 22 February. This was a mere two weeks after she made her Dubai winning debut in the Listed Cape Verdi Stakes, but the story does not end there. Her dam was a last bid purchase by Lionel Cohen, who claims that his wife Caroline urged him to one more effort. That was the decisive blow and history was in the offing.

Sun Classique is a triple Group One winner in South Africa and was voted Champion Three Year Old Filly last season. She has already been nominated for the Group One Dubai Duty Free and the Group One Dubai Sheema Classic.

Her dam, Elfenjer (Australia) was mated to Fuji Kiseki (Japan) at the Widden Stud by leading South African owner and breeder Lionel Cohen. Elfenjer cost Lionel Cohen a mere A$32 000 (AUS) at the 2003 Inglis Broodmare Sale. He went on to mention that his contacts at Widden Stud didn't paint the grandest picture of a proposed sale of the product between Fuji Kiseki and Elfenjer, citing the competitive market conditions of that time. Sun Classique was packed off to South Africa as a weanling and grew at Cohen's Odessa Stud.

When she was placed on auction at his Equimark Sale, she garnered not a single bid, which Cohen attributed to South Africans not fully understanding her breeding. The rest, as they say, is history, with Cohen keeping her for himself and later selling a share of her to his current partner, Warne Rippon.

Sun Classique is the first stakes winner produced by her dam Elfenjer, daughter of leading broodmare sire Last Tycoon (Ireland).

Elfenjer is daughter of the mare Gamine who herself won nine races including the Group One South Australian Oaks over 2400m.

http://www.sahorseracing.com/columnist.asp?col=3

[my miss storm cat]

Once upon a time, In France, there lived a horse named Dilek and he was happy!

He loved his jockey Chris (Soumillon) and his jockey loved him. Awww.

At Saint-Cloud he got a nice view of Sudan's behind and a few other horses passed him.....

He could only manage 5th, but Chris knew he was a good boy and asked to ride him again!

Together they won the next four in a row, beating other nice boys like Champs Elysses!

Finally, in his 6th race where he was 3rd to Stormy River, Dr. Ho (the infamous Macau Casino tycoon) took one look at him and insisted this horse must go to Hong Kong. Yea!!!

He met his new stablemate Comic Strip and they were such good friends that Dr. Ho decided they should both be renamed Viva.

Now Dr. Ho had had a horse named Viva Pataca, but he was retired (before ever racing, I believe) so Comic Strip got his name, in tribute, and Dilek got the name Viva Macau!

He didn't do that well at first..... I mean who would with Nunes up? He was good-natured though and took it all in stride, and being called Viva 2 never bothered him! (He was, however, relieved when Dr. Ho bought Kid Mambo and named him Viva Hong Kong.... thus now having a Viva 3 which made him the middle child).

He could only manage one win BUT it was such a nice win and a tough field.....

http://www.hkjc.com/english/racing/r...2007&raceno=08

... and he beat home some members of the old guard which was pretty exciting.

He had Darren (Beadman) up but occassionally Chris would come to see him and even ride him at times. Awwww.

His form / France.....

http://www.hkjc.com/english/pp_formsheet/fse_H110.pdf

... and in HK.....

http://www.hkjc.com/english/racing/h...p?horseno=H110

He got to ride a plane to Dubai with Watch What Happens which was fun as they're both French and the fligh attendants couldn't understand them!

Anyway, he's currently the only Viva in Dubai as his buddy, Viva 1, won't fly out for a couple of weeks.

He might not exactly beat Seachange (very exciting... there aren't many girls in HK! Ooooh, maybe he can ask her out! ) or many home but hey..... for once it's a good thing not to be overshadowed by Viva #1!

Safe home, pretty boy.

[my miss storm cat]

His name is Tiger Prawn and I like to think if he were a person, he'd be one of those unassuming types.... just goes about his business and is pretty much ignored.

A ridgeling (originally from South Africa), he was bumped in his first start when Tri Glory shifted out. It was only a Class 4, Millard didn't know what he had in the horse, but Felix Coetzee steadied him and he showed some toughness.

He won the next start, the next four in fact, but sadly HK fans will remember him as the horse who won the race with Windicator (who was 2nd and who collapsed and died immediately after). As it was a Bulldozer race, it was mentioned here...

He ended his first season pretty well, jumping up from the lower levels of Class 4 to the top of Class 2.

He won his season opener this time around and was entered and won his first-ever Class 1.

Tiger Prawn was entered for the Cathay Pacific International Sprint Trial - Millard must have felt pretty damned good to enter him against the likes of Sacred Kingdom, Ab Champ, Scintillation et al, but he had some swelling and was withdrawn.

Two more races this season and although he was only 5th and then 3rd his rating jumped from 85 to 100.

He's the only horse owned by Robert Chung Wai Shu who I'd imagine is unassuming as well.

Absolute Champion stunned the world when he won the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint. A Cinderella story... he was a mere standby starter and only drew in because of the circumstances surrounding poor Takeover Target.

TT aside, it was a great story... the virtual unknown beating not only the old guard (Silent Witness, Sunny Sing, Billet, Scintillation, etc) home but the internationals (Meisho Bowler, She is Tosho, Benbaun, Desert Lord and Red Oog) as well.

So you never know.

No news about this guy..... if he goes, he'll be the last sentence on the Viva Pataca article, the Bullish Luck piece. An afterthought.

Let's hear it for the underdogs.

[my miss storm cat]

There are leading men and there are character actors and sometimes the latter are a little more interesting.

After his first race (Yarmouth, Aug. 4, 04) which was won by Wilko who had raced just 7 days before, this is the way the form notes described the (Sir) Michael Stoute-trained 2YO.....

Linngari didn't look a lot and just the chased the first two through the final furlong...

Hmmm.

He won his next start a couple of weeks later with Fallon up, and the one after that with Ryan Moore.

A couple more races and suddenly he was thrown to the wolves, namely David Junior, in Group 1 company.

While he didn't do too well, he did win the next 4 in a row and went from Haydock to Nad al Sheba, to Deauville and then to Baden Baden.

It didn't stop there..... another side trip to France before Hong Kong..... this horse has some serious frequent flyer miles.

Dubai, back to Hong Kong, France, Italy, back to France, back to Dubai.....

... and yet the name Linngari is only vaguely familiar to some.

Why is that?

Six years old and NOT at stud... this horse has won ten of 23 but there are never big headlines or multiple threads. No fanfare, no fuss... he's that rare type that the old timers sometimes talk about. A horse who races, year after year.

Good luck to Herman Brown, to the racing fans of South Africa, and to their flag bearer.

My favorite quote.....


26 Aug 2004 Lingfield -
He's a little horse with a big heart, who is going places. - Jimmy Scott, travelling head lad

Winning the G1 Premio Vittorio di Capua.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3B6rMmUlps

Hanging out in Hong Kong.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDRRqgdb_mA

http://www.sahorseracing.com/columnist.asp?col=20

http://www.agakhanstuds.com/history/...code=200200299