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Great start Dubai Millennium first equine star of new century
Posted: Sunday March 26, 2000 11:30 AM
DUBAI (Reuters) -- Dubai Millennium was crowned the first equine superstar of the 21st century with a record-breaking victory in the Dubai World Cup, the richest horse race ever run. Frankie Dettori said Dubai Millennium was the best horse he had ever ridden, Sheik Mohammed called it the best day of his life. The Dubai crowd went wild as the supercharged colt stormed home by six lengths. A posse of four American challengers trailed vainly in his majestic wake. For Dubai's Godolphin Stable, Dubai Millennium provided a dream start to the new millennium. British bookmakers were already quoting odds of 6-1 that he would end his 2000 campaign in triumph with victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in the United States. But that race is not until November and Dubai Millennium has all of Europe to conquer first. He will be a true attraction at Royal Ascot in June and ranks alongside American greats Cigar and Silver Charm as a worthy winner of the first prize in this $6 million showdown in the desert. Godolphin has conquered the world with battle-hardened globetrotters like Daylami and Swain. But none of the stable stars can currently match Dubai Millennium for sheer class and devastating acceleration. "This is the best horse I have ever seen," said Sheikh Mohammed who was so confident in the horse's ability that he changed his name to Dubai Millennium before he even ran. "I knew he was a good horse. I knew he would go all the way and not let me down," he said. How right he was. Jockey Dettori must have felt as if he was aboard a high-powered rocket that fired straight out of the starting gate and was never headed. "He has got a mind of his own and when in the early stages he wanted to go, I said OK let's go. You cannot afford to fight him," he said, telling racing correspondents that even they could have won aboard the horse on Saturday night. "He has got a fantastic turn of foot on grass and so much speed on dirt," said the effervescent Italian after 30,000 racegoers started cheering their local hero 200 meters from the finish. It was a truly regal procession with Dubai Millennium earning a staggering $30,000 a second for his demolition job on the opposition. American challenger Behrens could never get in a telling blow and trailed in an honorable runner-up, ahead of his compatriots Public Purse, Puerto Madero and Ecton Park. The Japanese, rising stars on the international racing scene, were disappointed that World Cleek could only trail in sixth ahead of hardy British veteran Running Stag and Hong Kong's Indigenous. But there was only one star under the desert sky on Saturday night and Dettori said it all for the racegoers lucky enough to witness an equine marvel: "Unbelievable. He is definitely the best horse I have ever ridden."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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