Singapore's Dubai duo wound up their preparation towards their respective missions at Saturday's Dubai World Cup meeting in contrasting fashion at Medyan, Dubai, on Thursday, but both Rocket Man and Better Be The One still gave their trainers every reason to be upbeat about their fitness level and ultimately their winning chances.
Photo by Singapore Turf Club
While the indisputably better-known half of the pair Rocket Man dazzled the big turnout at the traditional Breakfast With The Stars with a sizzling workout on the Tapeta track, Better Be The One dodged the hustle-and-bustle and the media glare for a quieter jog in the adjacent training track at Meydan.
Trainer Michael Freedman was for the first time on hand to watch Better Be The One go through his paces with new partner Kieren Fallon aboard, ahead of his attempt to go two better in the US$1 million Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint (1000m) on turf.
With only a handful of other runners going for a leisurely spin around the training track, Better Be The One seemed to relish the serenity of the surroundings, although the majestic structure of the Meydan Grandstand still towered over in the distance.
The More Than Ready five-year-old ambled away to a slow canter for one lap (around 1000m) before speeding off to a stronger canter in the second lap.
“I've never been a fan of the Breakfast With The Stars and all the hoopla around it. I thought Better Be The One would like it better here than all the noise (music, sound system, crowd) that may affect him down the home straight,” said Freedman.
“Besides he's a sprinter racing over 1000m and fitness is not an excuse. We don't really need to overcook him for such a race.
“He's already had his workout on Tuesday and he's done some of his work here (the adjacent training track) with (senior track rider) James (Peters) before.”
Freedman said he did not take advantage of the auxiliary track last year as he was only in Dubai for a week prior to the Al Quoz Sprint.
“We didn't use this track last year as he was only here for a week and our main priority was to get him used to the main track,” said Freedman.
“I think that it will do him a world of good to change things around instead of staying on just one track.
“Today was also a chance for Kieren to get to know him better. He was very happy after the workout and said he felt really strong underneath.
“He was very keen to work on him. For someone who has never sat on him, he said he was at where we wanted him to be – and that is the best feedback I could have hoped for.
“We'll now just keep him happy until Saturday. He will have just a light trot and canter tomorrow.”
Freedman said this year's renewal of the straight course race looks almost identical in strength to last year's and saw no reason why his charge would not be competitive given his gallant third to South African star sprinter J J The Jet Plane last year.
“It's a pretty open field and quite similar to last year's,” he said. “I don't know much about the other horses, but I do know horses like Joy And Fun, who won that race two years ago, and Ortensia who is a very good Australian sprinter.
“But if my bloke reproduces his run from last year, he should be right there.”
Seen with Freedman at the Meydan Racecourse yesterday was wife Anna and other friends, but not John O'Neil, the principle owner of Better Than Ever.
“John was gutted he couldn't make it again for the second time (he was not present at last year's Al Quoz Sprint either),” said the Australian conditioner.
“He loves his racing and would have given anything to be here, but he had some important commitments in Australia on Sunday and had to unfortunately give it a miss again. Let's hope he can still have reasons to cheer on Saturday.”
Rocket Man for one had trainer Patrick Shaw all cheery with the way he turned up the heat at Meydan's misty morning with race-jockey Felix Coetzee up. The Viscount six-year-old gathered speed as he came off the left-handed bend before exploding away in the home straight looking in tip-top shape ahead of his bid for back-to-back Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (1200m).
“Perfect,” summed up Shaw. “Our job is done. He will take it easy now and it's all up to Felix on Saturday.”
Rocket Man is drawn in barrier No 1 in the US$2 million race whereas Better Be The One has drawn barrier No 13, which is relatively immaterial in a straight-course race such as the Al Quoz Sprint.
