Dibayani shocks rivals to win King George V Cup – Horseracing news
Dibayani stunned his rivals to claim the King George V Cup at Leopardstown in Ireland on Friday, June 7, 2013.
He was not rated as the favourite to succeed, but proved to be too quick for the other challengers.
The Irish stallion was given a general starting price of 7 to 2 and was expected to fight for the top-three positions. However, he was unable to start the race well, which put some doubts in the minds of everyone. He had to settle in the rear for quite some
time, but made up places, as the race progressed.
When he entered the final furlong, he started improving his speed and took the lead over the favourite stallion Count Of Limonade, winning by less than one length.
Declan McDonogh, who was partnering the winning horse, said after the race, “He's a progressive horse. I'm surprised he handled the ground so well, but he actually moved brilliant on it. I always had plenty of horse to go inside. If I had to come out I wouldn't
have won.”
On the other hand, the triumphant trainer M. Halford was also pleased with the outcome of the event and expressed delight over the fact that his young colt could stay over a longer distance race.
The seasoned trainer added, “It was a good performance. Everything went to plan. He settled well, they went an even gallop, he loved the ground and got the trip. It took him a while to learn to settle but you couldn't fault him today. It work out terrifically
and he quickened up lovely.”
Things have really started looking positive for Dibayani now, but he needs to continue winning races in order to improve his strike rate. His overall performances are impressive, but it is the victories that count more than anything else in the end.
The three-year-old colt has represented his camp in seven races until now and there was only one occasion, when he failed to finish inside the top-three. Apart from that, his form has been really good. He has succeeded on a couple of times whereas finished
as a runner up and in third place in the same number of competitions.
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