APQEII Cup News : Dettori keen on Grandera's chances

16 April 2002

"We have targetted Grandera towards this race and he is the best horse we have ever run in it," he says.

Considering Godolphin's Overbury won the prize under Dettori in 1996 and the same team finished third with Annus Mirabilis the following year, these words appear to indicate a degree of confidence in the chances of the four-year-old son of Grand Lodge.

The world's best-known jockey was enjoying a mid-morning cup of tea at the Newmarket home of his friend and agent Ray Cochrane as he discussed his forthcoming trip to the Far East.

"Sha Tin is a straightforward track. The best horse should win and I hope it is mine!" said Dettori, who has only ridden Grandera once but says he likes what he has seen.

Just as he is giving the impression that he is partnering the sure-fire winner of Sunday's Sha Tin feature, the jockey adds: "The big increase in the money for the race has meant that the competition has got that much stronger. I fear the Japanese most and I can't deny that it is going to be tough."

The jockey can take heart from the comments of Grandera's former trainer, James Fanshawe. It was Fanshawe who was responsible for Grandera's successful three-year-old career, which included his unlucky third in the French Derby, a narrow second in the Eclipse Stakes and his comfortable victory in a Listed Race at Newbury over 2200 metres.

Fanshawe also used to handle last year's Hong Kong Derby winner Olympic Express in England (where he raced as Ecclesiastical), and though professing the highest respect for both horses and maintaining a diplomatic refusal to reveal which he believes will come out on top, there is a persuasive emphasis in his words: "Throughout last season I kept saying that Grandera would be a stronger and better horse at four. I expect him to make a big impact this year."

Concerning race strategy, Fanshawe says: "He was very much a hold-up horse with me and, unless tactics change under Godolphin, I would expect him to be kept for a late surge."

Dettori is not giving anything away on that score, but win, lose or draw the Italian star is buzzing about his Hong Kong trip. "I also have the ride on Ivan Allan's Firebolt to look forward to in the big sprint. In Hong Kong they have created one of the best clubs in the world for our sport and Sunday is going to be another great day of racing."