Relief for Buick as Godolphin’s Line Of Duty wins Juvenile Turf
Godolphin jockey William Buick had to survive a steward’s inquiry before Line Of Duty was declared the winner of the Group 1 Juvenile Turf on Day 1 of the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs racetrack on Friday.
Buick had to pull the colt out from the inside rail to produce his challenge from the outside, but bumped Uncle Benny just before flashing past the winning post.
“I’ve never been so tense on a racecourse, but that was a great decision by the stewards because we saw the best horse won the race,” said a relieved Buick when the results were announced.
“I thought he did very well because I didn’t have a straightforward trip myself. He jumped too well, which we can’t really say many times about our horses – especially two-year-olds – so I took him back and then I got a couple of bumps and had to take him off heels.”
Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby, who has had a superb season highlighted by Masar’s victory in the Epsom Derby in the summer, said it was fantastic result for the team and was delighted for the connections.
Masar was sixth in this race last year before becoming the first horse to win the English Derby in the Royal Blue silks. Line Of Duty may follow the same path. “I was talking to someone the other evening and they said watching him in France last time that he was under the pump early, but this horse just loves to be driven and the harder you drive him, the more he finds,” Appleby said.
“It was a fantastic ride by William, he’s got him angled out and he’s got him a clear run. I knew when he got him rolling down the straight he was always going to hit the line strong and that’s what he did.”
Godolphin have three entered on Saturday’s nine-race card, all Group 1 races, and trained by three different trainers.
Appleby sends out Wild Illusion in the Breeders’ Cup Turf for Fillies and Mares, Frenchman Andre Fabre runs Talismanic in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, and Saeed bin Suroor has Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Storm in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Trainer Eric Lemartinel plans to race Darius Du Paon in the National Day Cup next month after seeing his charge triumph at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club’s opening meeting of the season yesterday.
Lemartinel’s horse, ridden by Olivier Doleuze, riding in the UAE for the first time, prevailed in the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup Prep, for Purebred Arabians run over the 1,600-metre trip.
Lemartinel was pleased with his form and confirmed his next outing would be again in Abu Dhabi on December 9.
“He was runner-up in the race last year after missing the break, so his win wasn’t a surprise,” said Lemartinel of yesterday’s win.
“Tonight, he raced behind the leading horse and got a good run on the home stretch to win well. Obviously, his next race will be the National Day Cup [on December 9].”
Doleuze, a French jockey who has been riding in Hong Kong for the last 15 years in freelancing in his first season in the UAE, made his mark on the very first ride in the Emirates.
“Eric asked me to ride his horse and I couldn’t have wished for a better result,” he said.
“I don’t know much about the horse but when I went to the start he was nice and relaxed. He was able to follow the lead horse [AF Al Sajanjle ridden by Tadhg O’Shea] and good enough to win.
“It is good for me to come and try different things. It isn’t a benefit to sit in the same place for a long time. So it was good to come meet other people and to win is really good.”
It was a good night for Lemartinel as he also enjoyed victory in the opening race as Ellal, ridden by Pat Cosgrave, prevailed.
“It was the first time I sat on him and Eric gave me the confidence and said to me he is a nice horse,” he said.
“He’s a big horse, he needs space and I had challenge from wide. He travelled well and it was a nice education run for him as well. He looks a smart horse with a lot of potential.”
Ernst Oertel and Tadhg O’Shea, the trainer-jockey partnership, also racked up a double with AF Waqas in AF Yatroq, both in the silks of Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah.
O’Shea added a third when he rode the Satish Seemar-trained Parliamentarian to a deadheat with Ben Curtis on board Jamesian trained by Musabah Al Muhairi.