Blue Diamond winner Pride Of Dubai has his future beyond the track secure after Coolmore Stud and the China Horse Club took a significant share in him ahead the Sires' Produce Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.
The Street Cry colt will still race in the silks of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, who bred him and maintains the majority share in him. Peter Snowden is confident Pride Of Dubai can add another group 1 to his resume for the syndicate on Saturday.
"I have always thought he would get better at seven furlongs [1400m] and the break he has had has helped him," Snowden said. "He is very relaxed and as we saw in the Blue Diamond he is pretty tough. He is a very good colt."
Waller's Doncaster aims
Chris Waller provided the first four home in the Doncaster last year and the stable stalwarts that filled the quinella, Sacred Falls and Royal Descent, are back for another crack, and appear to be under the radar.
Most of the attention is whether three-year-old Kermadec will get a run but Waller has gone about his business to have a couple of guns right on the day. He believes Royal Descent is ready to peak.
"Her run in the George Ryder was at least the equal of the her run in that race last year. She has the same weight in the Doncaster as last year and it took a freak performance from Sacred Falls to beat her then," Waller said. "She keeps going in the right direction."
Sacred Falls will look to become the first triple winner of the Doncaster but is rated a $26 chance. "We prepared him to be peaking for [the] Doncaster last year and it worked. We are trying to do the same thing again. The Doncaster is a certain type of race and it really seems to suit him," Waller said.
Punters have a chance to win a 10 per cent share in Royal Descent when she runs in Saturday's Doncaster, which could be worth $150,000 if she wins. The competition is being run, in partnership with Fairfax Media, by Aushorse, the marketing arm of Thoroughbred Breeders Australia. The winner has to come up with a name for Royal Descent's first foal. Entries close on Tuesday can be lodged at ownachampion.com.au.
Berry for English
Meanwhile, Gai Waterhouse will turn to Golden Slipper-winning rider Tommy Berry to pilot runner-up English in the Sires' Produce Stakes as Blake Shinn misses the ride through suspension.
Joao Moreira will fly in to steer Galaxy winner Sweet Idea in the T.J. Smith Stakes, while Caped Crusader looms as Waterhouse's only hope of breaking her Australian Derby duck, with Hampton Court likely to miss the three-year-old classic.
$40m for Vancouver
The major studs are throwing around $40 million offers for Golden Slipper winner Vancouver and a deal is expected to be done in the next week.
One major stud was told an offer believed to be $35 million would not get the job done and is not prepared to go any further. Another global operation pulled out of the hunt on Friday.
Dubai glory at last
It was a night of rewarding perseverance at the Dubai World Cup as seven-year-old Prince Bishop took out the $10 million feature, while Sole Power won the Al Quoz Sprint.
Prince Bishop had run ninth, seventh and 10th in the past three runnings of the Dubai World Cup but came from last to win the race, which was run on sand for the first time. Jockey William Buick carried out the instructions of Saeed Bin Suroor perfectly, tracking wide before proving too strong for California Chrome.
"Saeed told me to avoid getting kickback if at all possible," Buick said. "I knew that that was the best way to maximise my horse's chance. He has a very unorthodox way of racing but he ran on well to the end."
Earlier Sole Power won the Al Quoz Sprint at his fifth attempt, his previous best effort was a second behind Australia's Ortensia in 2012.
