Wolf Whistle wins feature race in Dubai Carnival
Mike De Kock’s Wolf Whistle was forced to pull out all the stops – again – to land the Group Three Al Rashidiya, the feature race of Thursday night’s seventh meeting of the Dubai International Racing Carnival.
The six-year-old gelded son of Badger Land loomed up two furlongs out to win his race, but his move was matched by Richard Hills on Shakis and the pair fought out a titanic finish – reminiscent of Wolf Whistle’s win over Seihali three weeks ago.
In front of an appreciative crowd, including Greg Rusedski and the Blackburn Rovers team, the pair served up a humdinger as the Group One winner in his native South Africa again refused to be beaten.
He is a supremely tough horse and this was Mike De Kock’s charge’s 10th win from 37 starts and he was completing a truly international treble for jockey Weichong Marwing.
De Kock won this race last year with subsequent Dubai Duty Free dead-heater Right Approach and hopes this horse can follow that route
“That was a great performance and typical of the horse who loves to get involved in a scrap,” he said. “The race really did not go to plan and the slow pace certainly did not help.
“Hopefully that will secure an invite for the Dubai Duty Free and tonight has, again, shown just what a good jockey Weichong is.”
Norway supplied Scandinavia with a first UAE win when Marwing produced Damachida to win the first leg of the 1300m grass handicap.
Trained by Eva Sundbye, the six-year-old was having his fourth UAE start and battled on strongly to withstand the late challenges of Mick Channon’s Millennium Force and Jeremy Noseda’s Twilight Blues.
In a fast-run race, the first three were in the last four turning for home.
“That was a great effort by horse and jockey and everything went to plan. He does not like being among horses so the wide draw was a help,” Sundbye said.
Marwing completed a double in the following 1700m dirt handicap when making all on Macau’s Change The Grange, who ran out a comfortable winner for trainer Alan Tam.
Champion trainer Mazin Al Kurdi maintained his impressive record of having won the first race at each of the seven Carnival meetings thus far when his Parole Board was the very impressive winner of the seven-furlong maiden on the dirt under Ted Durcan.
Remarkably, the winner posted by far the fastest time over course and distance this season – in spite of crossing the line at little more than a walk.
The trainer was back in the winner’s enclosure 30 minutes later when Bo Bid prevailed under a power-packed ride from Richard Mullen to fight off Marbush and land a thrilling victory in the mile dirt handicap. A five-year-old entire son of Helmsman, he was registering his first Carnival win and second of the season.
Durcan completed his double and the trainer’s treble when top-weight Afghan ran out the game winner of the 10-furlong dirt handicap to record his third course and distance Carnival win this season.
Godolphin’s Three Graces spread a plate before the mile grass handicap which caused a four minute delay and which surely did not help his chances.
Frankie Dettori jumped him off in front but he was a spent force early in the straight as Kerrin McEvoy loomed large on James Bethell’s Mine.
However, Pat Smullen was making steady progress on Dhruba Selvaratnam’s top-weight Seihali whom he soon kicked clear and the race was then over.
Durcan’s mount Trademark made relentless late progress to get within a length at the finish but the winner was value for more as he recorded his second win of this year’s Carnival to add to one at last year’s.
France added their name to this year’s Carnival roll of honour when top-weight Swedish Shave denied Channon’s Compton’s Eleven a second Carnival victory in the shadow of the post.
