Page 124 - MAjestic v7

F E AT U R E
2018 Preakness Stakes 2018必利时锦标赛
The prince had a special relationship with the late Bobby
Frankel, who handled his American horses, and after Frankel’s
death in late 2009, Juddmonte pulled back from its racing
presence in Southern Californa – one of the most important
American circuits. When he finally was ready to return to that
venue, the prince reached out to Baffert. Baffert was surprised Club. “They want to play at the top.”
and honoured. He was also the right man for the job and
among his first steps for Juddmonte was buying Arrogate, a
son of the great American sire Unbridled’s Song.
Arrogate quickly went on a tear, winning the prestigious
Grade I Travers Stakes at Saratoga in track-record
time, defeating American Horse of the Year California
Chrome in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic, winning the
USD12million, Grade I Pegasus World Cup in Florida and
then giving Baffert his third winner in the Dubai World
Cup in March of 2017.
OPENING DOORS
Shortly after he returned from Dubai, Baffert was contacted
by the China Horse Club and took over the training of Abel
Tasman. Bingo. The filly already was a Grade I winner but,
with Baffert’s touch, she rolled from far back in the field to
victory in the Kentucky Oaks – the most prestigious race an
American three-year-old filly can win.
122 MAjestic
“Something happened there,” Baffert says of his association
with the Quality Road filly. “We took her, made some
changes on her. That was pretty exciting, especially the way
she did it, coming from so far behind down that Churchill
Downs stretch.”
The trainer said a substantial number of China Horse Club
members were present at Churchill Downs for the Oaks,
along with Club executives. “They told me, kind of with a
smile, ‘The pressure is on. All of China is watching this’.”
“It was exciting to know you have a whole new group of
people being exposed to American racing. And you can’t
find a bigger weekend in America – the Kentucky Oaks and
the Kentucky Derby.
“The China Horse Club’s ideas are great,” he adds. “They
look for ways to reach out to the people in China and let
them know about international horse racing, to tell them,
‘We’ve got something really good here. You can get a lot of
bang for your buck.’
“The fact is, international racing opens a lot of doors,” Baffert
adds: “It opened lots of doors for me and it will open doors for
the people in China. It’s about connecting the dots.”
“It’s a really classy organisation,” he says of the China Horse
身 体 康复 后，这位 银 发 练马师，在 重 整 旗 鼓 之 际 也 遇 上了哈立
德·阿卜杜拉王子（阿拉伯皇室成员），他也是世界知名的朱德
望育马场负责人。 阿卜杜拉这位王子和已故美国殿堂级练马师
范高尔（不败赛马“范高尔”就是得名于他）曾经有着非常紧密
的合作关系，范高尔生前曾为他操练多匹美国赛马，当范高尔于
2009年去世后，朱德望育马场立即宣布全面退出于南加州举办
的一场美国重量 级 的 赛 事。当巴富达做 好准备回到 赛 场时，他
收到了王子的加盟邀约。巴富达对于这项重磅之邀深感惊喜。
毋庸置 疑，他是 最 适合接掌此重任 之 人 选 。加 入 朱德 望育马场
后，他的第一个贡献就是购入名驹“擅取”——美国赛马“无忌
之歌”的子嗣。
勇态十足的“擅取”自出赛以来，很快就创下了亮眼 成绩，譬
如在萨拉托加举办的特拉弗斯一级锦标赛（Grade I Travers
Stakes）中大奏凯歌，2016年育马者杯经典 赛中力挫美国年
度赛马“加州铬”，在佛罗里达飞马世界杯（Grade I Pegasus
World Cup）一级赛中赢得美金1200万，还有在2017年三月为
巴富达缔造迪拜世界杯第三胜纪录。