Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Sports World

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Special Duty team show racing spirit Posted: 13 Apr 2010 03:47 AM PDT Special Duty will run in the StanJames.com 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 1st despite being beaten on her seasonal appearance in France last week, writes Elliot Slater. And so she should! The fact that a horse gets beaten on its first outing of the term when some way short of peak fitness should never discourage owners and trainers from going ahead and competing. Special Duty, warm ante-post favourite for the first fillies' classic since her impressive victory in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at HQ on 'good to firm' ground last October, was clearly in need of the outing at Maisons Laffite recently and was patently unsuited by the bog-like conditions underfoot. Now, having established the filly is 100 per cent sound after her exertions, trainer Criquette Maarek-Head and owner Prince Khaled Abdullah have confirmed their intention to run the daughter of Hennessy in the classic despite the reversal on her first run of 2010. Racehorses, after all, are for racing, a fact that seems to have been lost on those connected to US wonder filly Rachel Alexandra, who ducked out of a $5 million showdown with the mighty Zenyatta, because Rachel had been beaten on her seasonal reappearance when in need of her first run of the year. Horse race betting fans had been looking forward to the Zenyatta/Rachel Alexandra head-to head, but the fear in the hearts of the four-year-old's owners and trainer Steve Asmussen of actually getting beaten forced the match to be postponed. It may never take place. Special Duty may not be in the same league as the American star females, but the principals remain the same. The French challenger still has a leading chance of adding her name to the 1,000 Guineas role of honour and all concerned should be applauded for not chickening out and denying a potential champion the chance to prove herself. That's what horse racing is all about.

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