Mike De Kock's Zanzamar to get fifth Dubai Carnival victory
Trainer Mike de Kock has ruled over the Dubai Carnival card all of last week, by bringing in four runners and it appears that his thirst for achieving a higher number of wins has not been quenched as he gets ready, once again, to pull in another hot favourite
this week. Zanzamar will take part in the UAE 2000 Guineas to be held at the Meydan racecourse.
The trainer of South African descent has been looking forward to get a fifth victory under his belt by winning the one mile long Group 3 Tapeta contest. Another possible win could be brought to De Kock if, or rather when he runs last year’s winner Musir
in the Listed Firebreak Stakes which is a big part of the Dubai Carnival.
Musir was crowned the victor in the UAE Derby last year, as previous De Kock winners Victory Moon and Honour Devil had been before him. De Kock’s other champion runner, Asiatic Boy, also won the Al Bastakiya and went on to become the only horse ever to win
the UAE Triple Crown in 2007.
Zanzamar was entered into the race after he displayed a good amount of skill in the Classic prep race three weeks before and proved himself worthy to stand against veteran trainer Saeed Bin Suroor, who has 1.2 million dollars yearling Buffum among other
contestants.
International ratings show Herman Brown-trained Paulinho, who is a Group 1 winner in his native Argentina, to be a formidable rival but he was defeated by Energia Carioca in a conditions race on his UAE debut at Meydan last week.
Jockey Clive Brittain is all ready to work with his partner Abjer, who is an Autumn Stakes winner and has placed well enough on the Lingfield Polytrack, for the Firebreak Stakes.
The Firebreak Stakes, which is run over a distance of 1 mile on Tapeta, is the main event in the Dubai Carnival and has caught the eye of many horseracing fans and a rather large number of entries. The entries alone for this race make a grand total of thirty
seven horses.
However, only fourteen of these can run the race and Musir is prepared to go through this test of strength and determination and looks ready to come out on top. Also due to run the race is the runner-up for the Dubai Duty Free Bankable, Godolphin Grade 1
winner Gayego and an experienced carnival winner for Ireland this year, Dandy Boy.
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