After riding a filly, Smith takes aim with a colt
dubai — The last time Mike Smith raced at the Dubai World Cup was four years ago. And it didn’t go down too well for the ace champion jockey with him partnering filly Royal Delta, a two-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic, to a 10th place finish among 12 runners.
Smith has had a way with fillies, having won plenty of races, but it was not to be on that night. Smith, who won the most Breeders’ Cup races of any jockey, is back for a second tilt, this time with a colt, and this time, he does have a serious shot at it.
Smith, now 51, will be on Arrogate, who is the overwhelming favourite to land the Dubai World Cup. And Smith is relishing the opportunity. “Without a doubt,” Smith said at the Meydan Racecourse on Friday morning.
“I haven’t got the opportunity to ride in this race other than one other time. That was a filly Royal Delta, back when it was synthetic. Didn’t fare very well in the synthetic. Well, if you are ever coming into ride at the Dubai World Cup, you know, you want to come in with a horse like this, with this kind of talent. So, very, very excited about the opportunity and hopefully we can make the most of it,” he added.
Over a long career, Smith had been on the mount of many horses but Arrogate has blown him away.
“I’ve been blessed to have ridden a lot of talented horses. At this point, you know, you hate to really say this, because like I said before, I’ve been blessed to have ridden some really good horses but I’m not too sure I’ve ever sat on one like this,” he said.
“Everything about him, his position, his mechanics, the way he gets over the ground, at times, you feel like you are running downhill instead of a level ground. He just feels like he’s getting over the ground that well and he’s done things that a horse, where he’s at the stage of his career, is not supposed to do, and especially not supposed to do with the ease that he seems to do it with. What amazes me more than anything is when the race is over it as if he hadn’t put much effort into it. His recovery time is so quick, he just seems to have lungs forever,” added Smith. And Smith went on about Arrogate.
“Again, something great to say about him is he never lets you really feel like that’s it, you are empty, you’ve hit the wall, so to say. He always seems to leave you with the feeling that there’s more to him,. And he’s certainly has got smarter about racing so, I can be very aggressive with him early, if I need to let him idle for a little bit, he will idle for me and then when I call on him he jumps into the ride, when I ask him, which is just a extra weapon to have with a horse,” Smith said.
But Smith is not taking anything lightly and said other horses could throw a few surprises. “Each performance of his is mind blowing for me and again, he has got to do something like that. He’s not just going to go over there and run around everyone. A lot of people think you are on the best horse but these horses in this race are extremely talented,” added Smith.
james@khaleejtimes.com