Ocean Park Looking to Create History in Dubai

New Zealand star Ocean Park (NZ) will be out to make history on Sunday morning when he lines up in the US$5 million Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Stakes (1800m), one of the feature races of the US$27.5 million Dubai World Cup meeting at Meydan.

The Dubai World Cup meeting is the third richest sporting event in the world behind football's UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup and will be the first stop for the New Zealand owned & trained Ocean Park (Thorn Park x Sayyida, by Zabeel) on his 2013 international campaign.

Ocean Park and Katie Hercock at the Meydan track. Photo courtesy of the Dubai Racing Club

Ocean Park will be out to add a piece of history to his already illustrious record, to become the first kiwi bred and trained horse to win a Group 1 race at the World Cup meeting. The son of Thorn Park has drawn barrier seven in the 14 horse field and will contest the same race that champion kiwi mare Sunline contested in 2001, where she finished third.

Thus far Ocean Park’s headline victory is the 2012 Group 1 Cox Plate where he beat crack three-year-olds All Too Hard and Pierro who have not been beaten since and have won three Group 1 races this preparation against the older horses.

Trainer Gary Hennessy is happy with his stable star who has done well since his arrival in Dubai, losing only around 10kgs on the long trip, and is confident given the form that surrounds his Cox Plate victory. 

“All signs look good, he has settled in well as we expected him to and he has really surprised everyone by just how relaxed he is,” said Hennessy.

“In the spring, the Cox Plate was our goal. Since then our goal has been the Dubai Duty Free Stakes and from Katie’s (Hercock – track work rider) comments, he is working like a ticking time bomb which mirrors Glen Boss’s comments when we were heading into the Cox Plate.”

Ocean Park will be ridden by champion Irish jockey Johnny Murtagh who met Hennessy in Hong Kong in December. There the pair hatched a plan to steer Ocean Park through a full European turf campaign with the Dubai stop the precursor to their Royal Ascot ambitions.

“Johnny has ridden some of the best horses in the world during his career,” said Hennessy. “For us, we are heading into the unknown, so to have a jockey like Johnny on board is crucial as we can draw on his experience, knowledge and his skills in the saddle.”

With New Zealand gallopers So You Think (NZ) and Little Bridge (NZ) both winning Group 1 races at Royal Ascot last year, Ocean Park will look to add to the tally in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) in June, a race won by Frankel last year.

He could also be joined by this season’s Group 1 Newmarket Handicap winner Shamexpress (NZ) who could defend NZ’s title in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes (1000m).

New Zealand has tasted Group 1 success at the World Cup meeting in the past with the Hong Kong-trained Vengeance of Rain (NZ) (Zabeel) winning the US$5 million Dubai Shema Classic (2400m) in 2007. Joy and Fun (NZ) (Cullen) has also been successful at the meeting winning the Group 3 Al Quoz Sprint in 2010.

The US$1 million Al Quoz Sprint (1000m) has since been upgraded to Group 1 level and the Derek Cruz trained Joy and Fun will try to win the race for the second time on Sunday morning (4.05am) after running third in the race at last year’s meeting after missing the start. Among his rivals will be former Australian galloper and four time Group 1 winner Starspangledbanner.

To view the fields for the US$27.5 million Dubai World Cup meeting, click here.

Trackside will be broadcasting the full Dubai World Cup programme on TAB TV channel 35, with coverage beginning at 1.30am on Sunday morning, March 31. The Dubai Duty Free (race 7) will be held at 5.40am NZ time.