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Trainer Steven
Burridge could not have asked for a better start to his first overseas
adventure with a win and a fourth placing in Dubai on
Thursday night.
Dark Matter
took out the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial over 1400m on the all-weather track
while Apache Crown finished fourth in a 1200m handicap over the straight
course on turf.
Both gallopers
were ridden by Ted Durcan.
Burridge, who
has a team of four horses in Dubai for
the carnival leading up to World Cup night on March 31, was naturally
delighted with the achievement.
¡°This is a great thrill, not just for me
but for the whole team,¡± said Burridge from Dubai on
Friday morning.
¡°It¡¯s great for
KC (Dr Tan Kai Chah), Mick Lockett and the whole team back in Singapore.
¡°Naturally there is a lot of pressure to
perform when you head overseas and even more so first-up.
¡°This is my first time away to such a
big carnival and we have had a bit of luck, so to come away with a win and a
fourth on our first night out is very satisfying.¡±
Burridge said
Dark Matter had enjoyed the run of the race, sitting in second position on
the fence before getting up inside of the leader on the hometurn.
He said Dark
Matter looked to be struggling before gaining his second wind and then going
on to post a half-length victory over Kinglet, ridden by Mickeal Barzalona.
¡°The beauty with Dark Matter is that he
makes his own luck in his races,¡± said Burridge. ¡°He¡¯s done a good job to win the
race and hopefully there is improvement still to come from him.¡±
Burridge said
Dark Matter¡¯s immediate aim was the Group 3 UAE
2000 Guineas over
1600m on February 9 but he was unsure at this stage whether the
three-year-old would require another start before that race.
The run of
Apache Crown in finishing fourth in his race was also a good pointer to
possible success further down the track.
¡°It was his first run on a straight
course and he got a bit lost,¡± said Burridge. ¡°He ran on really well in the final stages and will take
improvement from the run.¡±
Burridge, who
will stay on in Dubai for the next week,
said his other two gallopers in Dubai ¨C Captain Obvious and Ip Man ¨C
were likely to run next week either on Friday January 20 or Saturday January
21.
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