Eagle Mountain injured

[my miss storm cat]

... out of the Sheema Classic.

A real shame since he missed it last year due to injury.

[brockguy]

yeah a big shame, out for the 1st half of the year as well - same schedule as last year i suppose, if they can keep him right!

[my miss storm cat]

RP...

Eagle Mountain: Hong Kong Cup hero misses Dubai World Cup

PICTURE: Hong Kong Jockey Club

Eagle Mountain misses Dubai through injury By Jason Ford5.20PM 16 MAR 2009

EAGLE MOUNTAIN has had a setback and will miss the Dubai World Cup meeting and the first half of the European campaign.

Trainer Mike De Kock has revealed that the Hong Kong Cup winner has injured a suspensory ligament and will miss about two months’ training, ruling out a crack at the $5 million Dubai Sheema Classic on World Cup night.

The news is a major blow to De Kock, who could not run Eagle Mountain in last year’s Sheema Classic owing to a pelvic injury.
De Kock explained: “Sadly Eagle Mountain will again miss the Sheema Classic and the World Cup meeting.

“He has damaged a suspensory but we think we have been lucky and detected the problem very early on.

“There is certainly no point in risking such a good horse and we willprobably give him six to eight weeks off now and then re-assess the situation. The plan remains to send him to England next month.

“Obviously it is a blow but we have Front House for the Sheema Classic and hopefully a couplemore for a race we won last year with Sun Classique.”

Having recovered from last year’s injury, the ex-Ballydoyle five-year-old made a winning debut for De Kock in Newmarket’s Joel Stakes when defeating now stable companion Bankable.


He was then narrowly beaten in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, before winning in Hong Kong.

De Kock will still have a strong World Cup night team, headed by Asiatic Boy and Honour Devil in the big race itself and Archipenko and Bankable in the Dubai Duty Free.

However, having won the last two UAE Derbies, it looks unlikely he will have a runner in either that race or the Golden Shaheen, the one thoroughbred race on the card the South African has yet to win.

Last year’s World Cup third Well Armed sparkled in a 7f drill at Santa Anita on Sunday - much to the delight of trainer Eoin Harty.

“He worked very well,” Harty said. “He’s fit and ready.

“It takes a very good horse to win the World Cup,” he added. “That race is always won by the best horse on the night.

“I’m confident my horse can compete. He’s still in top form and there’s no Curlin in there like last year. I don’t know if he’ll win, but I think he’llrun very respectably.”

A maximum field of 14 looks likely for the World Cup, with Muhannak representing Britain, plus ex-Brazilian Gloria De Campeio for France, Casino Drive from Japoan, and three Saudi Arabian-trained horses.