A Classic Rematch
The two siblings who fought out the Grand Prix de Paris a month ago, clash head-on in the The Diamond Cup at River Nile Delta Racecourse on Saturday. Will the extra 123m make a difference and afford Joe Rook an opportunity to turn the tables on Secret Agenda? The pair were drawn alongside each other at the end of June when Pierre Strydom rode a superb race on Dixon Racing’s Secret Agenda to hold off the bay colt from the Sootie yard. The runner from the Desert Wind Stables Tic Tac, is a top sort who has won his two last starts. He steps up in distance and could be held marginally by the top two, but will be dangerous if allowed any leeway.
We don’t know how good Secret Agenda is yet. She is unbeaten from three starts, setting world records on the way, and the daughter of Lara Blitzen will appreciate the 2423m test.
RECAP: ROUNDING OUT THE TOP 5
07/23/2016
| Pos | Gate | Horse | Stable | Jockey | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Secret Agenda | Dixon Racing | Pierre Strydom | 2:30.274 |
| 2 | 5 | Big Bad Eruption | Burgersfortheboyz | Chae Delosantos | 2:32.562 |
| 3 | 7 | Tic Tac | Desert Wind Stables | Kizzie Jerman | 2:32.755 |
| 4 | 4 | Joe Rook | Sootie | Isaias Tocchio | 2:32.830 |
| 5 | 3 | Hissyfit | C M Pace Ranch | Elois Gullatte | 2:35.273 |
1. Secret Agenda |
4yo mare from Dixon Racing, Career earnings: $1,230,000 Overall rating: Reasonable(53) – Mud-lark |
Stable comments: – “Secret Agenda has done everything asked of her to date. I wasn’t expecting much from the heat as she has no long experience and we took it pretty easy, but she showed some class to win in dominant fashion in WR time. I expect her to be a tough nut to crack in the final with Tic Tac being her main danger.”
2. Dion Davie Ralphee |
4yo mare from swindin, Career earnings: $70,000 Overall rating: Reasonable(50) – Fast finisher |
Stable comments: – “Dion Davie Ralphee…with the rain his chances have dwindled away, hope the jockey can keep him handy to leaders for outside chance at 3rd/4th place…”
3. Hissyfit |
4yo mare from C M Pace Ranch, Career earnings: $850,600 Overall rating: Acceptable(44) – Fast finisher |
Stable comments: – “
4. Joe Rook |
4yo stallion from Sootie, Career earnings: $1,722,400 Overall rating: Reasonable(54) – Mud-lark |
Stable comments: – “Having walked the heat pretty much I’ll be looking at pushing Joe Rook much harder and hopefully he can bag that nice shiny trophy.”
5. Big Bad Eruption |
4yo stallion from Burgersfortheboyz, Career earnings: $1,347,200 Overall rating: Reasonable(50) – Mud-lark |
Stable comments: – “The Eruption enjoyed a quiet run in the heats working home nicely in the last quarter. He is primed to battle it out for 3rd place in the final. The two full siblings Secret Agenda and Joe Rook will likely be toasting a drink straight out of the diamond cup over a quiet family dinner.”
6. Deputy Xanadu |
4yo stallion from zephyr racing stable, Career earnings: $549,400 Overall rating: Acceptable(44) – Competitive |
Stable comments: – “Should be 1000/1 with bookies. Not up with these class of horses. A 5th placing would be a triumph for stable.”
7. Tic Tac |
4yo stallion from Desert Wind Stables, Career earnings: $766,200 Overall rating: Reasonable(52) – Mud-lark |
Stable comments: – “Pleased with Tic Tac‘s heat time but the lack of experience at epic distance is going to be a major issue. Hoping I might sneak in a 3rd but will be interesting to see the difference 300m makes.”
8. Pomp And Splendour |
4yo stallion from Windmill Racing, Career earnings: $147,500 Overall rating: Reasonable(50) |
Stable comments: – “Pomp And Splendour is an exciting horse for the future over epic distances. His sire Champion Regalis was an epic specialist yearling pull who I trained to win two class one classic cups and come second in the TK Masters while his mare, Pompeys Pride was another yearling pull who became a mud lark at long distances and win a couple of GRAN class 1 league races and the Run In The Sun local cup for the yard. My fellow was totally outpaced in the Diamond heat over a long distance and while he will relish further he is carrying too much condition and is too immature to realistically have any kind of chance next weekend. But he’s one to watch out for in a few seasons time as an older horse.”