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Today's Racing :

De Kock: SA-breds are great value

LIZARD’s Desire, the result of a self-mating experiment by his original owner Albert Boshoff and born from a mare he bought back from a riding school, posted his second successive win at Meydan in Dubai when easily accounting for Godolphin’s Soy Librano in the $US120 000 Wheels Handicap over 2 000m last Thursday.
Behind him were runners by world-renowned sires like Ride The Rails, Cape Cross and Singspiel, to name but a few, but the son of Sabine Plattner’s almost-forgotten stallion Lizard Island made them look ordinary and is now shaping as a prospect for some of the bigger Carnival races.
“He’s a bomb of a horse and very sound, Albert must be very chuffed with himself,” trainer Mike de Kock told Racingweb from Dubai.
Lizard’s Desire, now owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, received a 7lb penalty when he beat King Of Rome (a fluent winner since) a fortnight ago and De Kock said: “He’ll probably pick up another 4lb penalty for this win and will then be rated higher than horses like Dan De Lago, who beat him back in South Africa.
He has really blossomed and we are very pleased.”
De Kock was full of praise for South African-bred runners, with Lucky Find coming back to his best for a second place in the Gulf News Broadcasting Handicap: “They’ve proven themselves over and over in Dubai, they are flying the flag. They are sound and make good value buys.
“Buyers are paying astronomical amounts for horses bred elsewhere who are not making the grade. Horses in training from Argentina, for example, are unrealistically priced. Those sellers need to reconsider what they are doing, they are losing their value.”
He stressed the importance of these Dubai wins for the SA breeding industry and said: “International buyers should start to get serious about South Africa now. Our breeds are tough and sound and have plenty of ability.
“If our breeders and owners stay realistic in their prices, the market will stay lively. I hope they keep their feet on the ground, because the overseas buyers will keep coming back for good deals.”
Raihana (AUS), the stable’s other major contender on the night, was beaten into fourth in the UAE 1000 Guineas and De Kock noted: “She gave 4,5kg to the first three runners past the post, all good Northern Hemisphere breds, and was beaten under two lengths. It was a terrific run. We’d like to bump the same horses six months down the line!”
Back home the proud Albert Boshoff said about Lizard’s Desire: “He makes my heart warm.
“I wanted to keep a small share but eventually decided to sell 100% to Sheikh Mohammed. Lizard’s Desire’s dam, Annfields (Northfields) is still alive with his full-brother at foot and another Lizard Island in her tummy. I’m hoping they can turn out to be as good.”- Racingweb

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