Alareef last raced in February 2017 and will open his account at Meydan on Thursday night for the stable of Mike De Kock.

The Stronghold gelding out of Spring Valley resident broodmare Modraj (by Machiavellian) had three wins in Dubai last season, along with six places from 13 starts in the United Arab Emirates.

The handsome dark bay gelding bred by Shadwell Stud and owned by Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum descends from the blue blooded family of Galileo and Sea The Stars in his immediate damline – his second dam being Allegretta, the dam of Urban Sea.

Alareef produced four wins in South Africa – Gavin Van Zyl races his Just As Well half-brother, who has won three times, named Just Cruised In. He has won almost R250 000 in stakes.

Alareef’s last win came at the end of January 2017 under jockey Jim Crowley, where he won by over two lengths over 1200m.

Stronghold, who died prematurely at Summerhill Stud, has another son performing at the top of his game in Hong Kong, namely Horse Of Fortune for the stable of Tony Millard.

Modraj has an Eightfold Path foal at foot this year, whilst her Curved Ball yearling was sold to Kenya in 2017.

International news related to KZN is that Arrogate, who share sire Unbridled’s Song with Noble Tune, amazed the racing world with an astounding last to first Gr1 Dubai World Cup victory, a win galloped in the same fashion as the way Gr2 & Gr3 winning Noble Tune won his races.

Securing a son of the mighty and sadly deceased Unbridled’s Song in South Africa, Noble Tune who hails from an extraordinary international family will have his first yearlings for sale this year, out of an impressive selection of hand picked mares for his book.

Unbridled’s Song is the current leading American sire and second leading international sire behind Deep Impact, having produced in addition amongst his many stakes winners the grey Liam’s Map – a dual Gr1 winner standing alongside Noble Tune’s half-brother and dual Gr1 winner Honor Code – as well as a champion broodmare sire, where he is currently 5th on America’s national log.

Juddmonte Farms’ Unbridled’s Song colt Arrogate, broke slowly out of the starting gate in the $10 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), got squeezed between two horses early, raced behind a talented field, and still got home first by 2 1/4 lengths.

In winning his third straight “world” title, Arrogate was so dominant that jockey Mike Smith said he geared the gray down at the top of the stretch to avoid taking the lead too early.

After the slow start trainer Bob Baffert said he was hoping Smith would simply take care of the superstar colt. Instead, Arrogate started picking up horses, reached contention, and swept by Gun Runner.

“I missed the break completely,” Smith said. “I said, ‘I’m just going to ride him like Zenyatta. I had no choice but to just sit there and let him collect himself.”

Baffert, who scored his third Dubai World Cup victory, said the terrible break took the wind out of his sails and caused him to question his eleventh-hour decision to bring Arrogate to Dubai after his victories in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park.

“I was thinking, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have brought him. Maybe he’s getting tired.’ … I thought, ‘If he can’t win, Mike will take care of him and not abuse him.'” But as Arrogate worked his way into contention, the Hall of Fame trainer’s mood shifted. “I thought then, ‘If he wins this race, he’s the most incredible horse I’ve ever seen,'” he said.

By that point, Smith had totally regained his confidence. “I actually kind of geared him down a little bit, because I didn’t want him to hit the lead at the quarter pole,” the jockey said. “Whatever happened, it happened for a reason. It might have been a boring race.”

The Dubai World Cup was run over a track officially labeled “muddy” after a torrential rainstorm Saturday morning capped a week of turbulent weather. Despite the off track, significant kickback, and his long trip from California, Arrogate finished the 2,000 meters—about 1 1/4 miles—in 2:02.23. Arrogate got $6 million and Neolithic, who also finished third in the Pegasus, collected $1 million.

Mubtaahij, who came in second behind California Chrome  in last year’s World Cup, finished fourth while a budding Japanese star, Awardee, finished fifth.

The win boosted Arrogate’s career bankroll to $17,084,600, making him the highest-earning North American-based Thoroughbred in history. He eclipsed California Chrome among runners with one start in North America. He ranks third among all earners worldwide behind Orfevre ($19,005,275) and Gentildonna ($18,468,392).

Out of the Distorted Humor mare Bubbler, Arrogate was bred in Kentucky by Clearsky Farms and was a $560,000 Keeneland September yearling sale purchase in 2014.

Baffert and Garrett O’Rourke, racing manager for Juddmonte, said Arrogate will get a long rest now with an effort to repeat in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which is still the long-range goal for the year. Baffert said he was glad he brought Arrogate to the desert, even beyond the prestige and purse money.

“Everybody who was here tonight is going to say, ‘I’m glad I was here to see that,'” he said. “If anybody wasn’t super impressed with that, they just don’t like horse racing. I still can’t believe he won the race.”

Crusade’s half-sister defeated the bulk of the boys in the Gr1 Dubai Sheema Classic over 2400m to finish second, after coming from the back.

Seventh Heaven, a dual Gr1 Oaks winner who placed in the Breeders Cup, added another Gr1 place to her list and ran courageously to finish behind Jack Hobbs. In the process she defeated Highland Reel and Postponed.

Crusade has a number of yearlings available at Nationals, including a sibling to Gr1 Gold Cup winner, Wild One, and to Matador Man. His imposing son Calladdi finished second yesterday at Scottsville for the second time from both his starts for Greenstreet Bloodstock.

– extract bloodhorse.com

South African bred Light The Lights won the Listed Singspiel Stakes over 1800m on turf at Meydan for Mike de Kock and Christophe Soumillon on Thursday evening.

The five-year-old by Western Winter ran along nicely and had plenty in the tank around the bend, about three lengths off the call, but jockey Colm O’Donoghue sent his mount Championship swiftly clear of the pack. Soumillon had to work hard to get Light The Lights to make up the ground on the older horse, who wasn’t stopping, but they got there in the last two strides and posted victory by a neck.

De Kock praised the SA breeding industry for their horsemanship and the way they deliver top horses year after year. “Our horses have won on the world stage for a long time, they keep on winning but I still think the world under-rates us,” he said.

Light The Lights, a gelding by Western Winter from First Arrival (Northern Guest), was a R450 000 purchase for Hugo Hattingh and partners at the BSA National Yearling Sale.

He was sold to Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum after his fourth to Smart Call in the 2016 J&B Met and De Kock said: “Light The Lights left South Africa early last year and as a result they got to Dubai earlier than my horses normally do.

“Light The Lights was a fit horse tonight, so we will look at taking another early shipment this year.  They have definitely benefitted from getting here sooner.”

Bruce and Ann Nicholas of Hallmark Thoroughbreds have enjoyed much success with their mare First Arrival, a daughter of Summerhill super sire Northern Guest.

She has produced amongst others, British export In The Fast Lane, Rock The Country, and Muhtafal Equus Champion Let’s Rock ‘n Roll.

A Spey Bridge Champion 3YO Filly in 1999 who won two Gr3’s in Zimbabwe, First Arrival has been an outstanding mare with eight runners and eight winners to date, four of them Bold Black Type.

This is an exceptional dam line that includes Zimbabwean winners Newton Power, Print The Pounds and Super Trouper, as well as The Elmo Effect, Visuality, Morisco, American export Sally Bowles, Jackson Square and Trademark amongst many others.

Congratulations to all concerned!

– extract turftalk.co.za

KZN-bred Alareef, impeccably bred by Shadwell Stud, opened his winning account at Meydan for trainer Mike De Kock and his owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum. Mike De Kock had an incredible evening, producing three winners (as well as 2 seconds and a third on the evening) including the winner of the Gr2 Al Rashidiya, a race previously won with The Apache.

Alareef won four times in and placed a further five in South Africa for the Mike De Kock stable prior to export, and his Dubai record now stands with an additional win in the Al Forsan At Bab Al Shams Handicap over 1400m, and five previous places from seven starts there. State Law (by Invincible Spirit) and Stunned (by Shamardal) placed behind Alareef respectively, just over a length off.

The son of a stallion that sadly passed away prematurely – the former Summerhill resident Stronghold – Alareef has an incredible damline that breeder Bruce Le Roux has described “as something you cant just buy into, its a priceless pedigree.”

Alareef’s dam Modraj(GB) by Machiavellian stands at Spring Valley Stud on behalf of her owner Shadwell Stud, and saw her Just As Well colt sold to Team G Racing from the 2015 National Yearling Sale. He has since been named Just Cruised In.

Modraj currently has a foal at foot by Curved Ball, a son of the mighty Australian sire Fastnet Rock – himself a son of Danehill.

The third dam of Modraj is none other then Allegretta, the dam of Champion Race and broodmare, Urban Sea – who in turn has produced super sire Galileo, Sea The Stars, Black Sam Bellamy and My Typhoon.

Allegretta was mated to Nureyev to produce the dam of Modraj, Saleela.

Stronghold was a son of super sire Danehill, and has produced the likes of Paul Lafferty’s Double Clutch and Pat Lunn’s Supercede, as well as good racemare Fortitude, who recently took home victory again in the Vaal.

Stronghold, out of Mr Prospector mare Insinuate, left behind just two crops of foals before succumbing to colic and the discovery of an irreparable rupture on the operating table.

Stronghold was given the status of the leading Handicapper of 2007, taking home five wins including the Gr3 Supreme Stakes and Paradise Listed.

Congratulations to the winning connections of Alareef.