NEWS
Honour Devil upsets Etched in UAE Guineas
Posted: Thursday, February 14, 2008 5:53 PM
HONOUR DEVIL (inside)
Dubai Racing Club/Andrew Watkins photo
Honour Devil and Royal Vintage provided trainer Michael de Kock with a sweep of the top two spots in the $250,000 United Arab Emirates Two Thousand Guineas (UAE-G3) on February 14 at Nad al Sheba racecourse, while previously undefeated Etched finished fourth in his first start for Godolphin Racing.
Argentine-bred Honour Devil and South African-bred Royal Vintage are both four-year-old colts who were eligible for the race because they were bred on Southern Hemisphere time.
De Kock won the same race in 2003 and ’07 with four-year-olds Victory Moon—a South African-bred—and Asiatic Boy—an Argentine-bred—who both went on to victories in the United Arab Emirates Derby (UAE-G2).
Johnny Murtagh rode Honour Devil, an Honour and Glory colt who won a conditions race by 5 1/4 lengths on January 24 in his only start since being purchased by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum and shipped from his native country to Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum also owns Asiatic Boy.
Honour Devil took command with 500 meters remaining in the UAE Two Thousand Guineas and held off his stablemate Royal Vintage by a half-length, completing the 1,600 meters (7.95 furlongs) in 1:34.80 on a fast track.
“It’s a fantastic result for Sheikh Mohammed, and we’re all indebted to him for his support of the stable,” de Kock said. “Honour Devil just doesn’t know when to lay down. But take nothing away from the runner-up who hadn’t run for 257 days and did not have the best draw [post 13].”
Argentine-bred My Indy, another four-year-old, finished 3 3/4 lengths back in third in the 15-horse field.
Etched never posed a serious threat under Godolphin’s first-call rider, Frankie Dettori, and finished 1 3/4 lengths behind Etched. The Forestry colt won easily in both his starts as a two-year-old in the United States, including a 6 1/2-length victory in the Nashua Stakes (G3) on October 28 at Aqueduct.
Numaany, another Godolphin colt who raced in the United States as a two-year-old, finished fifth.
