Dubai: Erwan Charpy on Saturday described winning his maiden $1 million (Dh3.67 million) Dubai Kahayla Classic, the traditional opener on the Dubai World Cup card, with the exciting Manark as a ‘dream come true’.
A nine-and-a-quarter-length winner of the Bani Yas on Super Satuday on March 7, the French-bred six-year-old dominated his 14 rivals to record a two-and-three-quarter-length victory over American raider Valiant Boy and the Majid Al Jahouri-trained Raaziq, who finished three-quarters of a length further back in third for big-race jockey Kieren Fallon.
In the process Manark, who has been in imperious form this season, broke the track record for the 2,000m (dirt) distance by more than three seconds. The winner is owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance.
It was a bittersweet result for Frenchman Charpy, who saw his stable star and 2013 runner-up Versac PY drop out of the race halfway through and finish a distance behind the winner.
“This is like a dream come true,” said Charpy. “The key was to have him [Manark] relaxed and keep him that way. In the morning when I went to see him he looked unusually relaxed and calm. I told the jockey to just let him go from the gate.
“It would have been nice to win this race with the second horse, Versac PY, as he had something to prove here. But I am happy for this one as he is the horse of the future. He is one of those who will determine our future.
“At the moment we are modelling ourselves to be a top racing organisation, and for this we need to have horses who will perform. We will have to be patient with him now and see what lies in the future.
“It actually feels great. The last time I won a race on the Dubai World Cup card was 20 years ago when I won the Gulf News Cup,” added the Green Stables veteran. “So it really feels nice to win something big again, after 20 years.”
Commenting on Versac PY’s performance, Charpy added: “I went straight away to have a look at him, he seems to be okay. [Jockey] Paul [Hanagan] said he never felt really happy with it, a little similar to how he was in Abu Dhabi with the President’s Cup, when we saw the ground was a little bit too lively.
“I walked the track this morning and thought it was in good shape but fast, that’s probably what — he’s an old horse, he’s got his wear and tear and I think he’s okay, it’s just the ground was a little bit too lively for him.”
Joel Rosario, who gamely chased the winner to the line aboard Valiant Boy, said: “I got blocked at one stage and wanted to be closer to the pace but it didn’t happen. He’s run great and faced the kickback perfectly. It rode like a good race.”
Six-time British champion jockey Fallon, who was a surprise booking aboard Raazik, regretted not adopting different tactics.
“He’s run a great race. If I had asked him sooner, it might have been different, but it’s hard to tell,” said Fallon.
(With inputs from Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter and Ashley Hammond, Staff Reporter)
