ÉCURIE GUJADHUR : Kremlin Captain will be a very exciting horse next year, selon Darryl Holland

On attendait surtout Bulsara dans la Coupe d’Or mais c’est avec Kremlin Captain que l’écurie Gujadhur et Darryl Holland ont tiré leur épingle du jeu. Si d’autres se seraient laissés aller au défaitisme, le jockey britannique préfère, pour sa part se concentrer sur les positifs.
« I was not too disappointed with Bulsara. He’s a horse that needs more ground as everybody knows. That was my fear before the race. That’s why we put the blinkers on to sharpen him up but it was a big task of him to go from 2400m to 1600m. But we live to fight another day. We’re beaten today but there’s always tomorrow ». C’est en ces termes que Darryl Holland a tenu à commenter la prestation de sa monture dans The Afrasia Duke Of York Cup.
La déception fut toutefois de courte durée pour l’écurie Gujadhur puisque The Dazzler ne commit point d’erreur avec Kremlin Captain dans l’épreuve de clôture. Bien qu’il ne fut pas en mesure de mener les débats, c’est au terme d’une sage course d’attente que le fils de Captain Al est venu décrocher sa troisième victoire cette saison. « It was a late decision whether to run him or not because he’s had a few races in quick succession. We had the board meeting on Thursday and we decided to take our chance with him. The horse came out of his last race very well and his condition was still very good. I was not too concerned being one-off. When you are on the best horse in the race, you should keep it simple. I jumped for the lead and was going to make it but the apprentice (NDLR : Marday sur Kruger Millions) got there first and I had to make my mind up to take a sit. So, I just let the horse go where he wanted because I knew he’s got a good turn of foot. He won a good race and I think he will be a very exciting horse next year when he gets over more ground ».
Et quid du bilan du Britannique jusqu’ici ? « I think I’ve managed to ride a winner at most meetings since I’m here. I’ve got to be happy because I’ve climbed up from zero to the eighth place in the jockey’s log in a very short space of time. Don’t forget that I only arrived here on 28th August, so I’ve not really had a lot of races under my belt. But I’m more happy for the stable because we’ve managed to keep the horses in good form and that’s the most important ».