Dolkong already a star before Dubai World Cup

Dubai - So much so that, the Koreans have named a race after him in Seoul.

Dolkong is yet to land a Group 1 winner or for that matter win the Dubai World Cup, but he is already a legend back home in Korea. So much so that, the Koreans have named a race after him in Seoul. And when the five-year-old chestnut lines up at the green gates at the Meydan Racecourse for the biggest race of his career - the Dubai World Cup, the Seoul Race Park will open at 2am and the race will be broadcast on a 200-metre screen.
It speaks of horse racing's rapid growth in the country and one can only imagine what the reaction would if Dolkong stages one of the most unlikely of upsets to land the spoils here in Dubai.
But his hander Simon Foster, although admitting that it would be massive, the Australian tempered down the expectations saying a top-five result would be a good achievement. "It is an honour to get a horse this far and get him into the running," said Foster, after watching Dolkong gallop under work rider Lizzie Stubbington on Tuesday morning.
"He's probably not qualified for it and we are mindful of that. But we laid our cards out on the table and get him into the race and we've managed to do that but there's still work left to be done. We didn't just come here to run in the race we came here to finish as high as we possibly can so we are working on that," he added.
Dolkong could be a contender on Dubai World Cup night and he has the results to show for it. The son of Afleet Alex, Dolkong has fared well on the Meydan dirt with a victory and two third-place finishes over the Dubai World Cup distance of 10 furlongs.
After finishing third in the EGA Jebel Ali Trophy in January, he swallowed Doug Watson's Etijaah by a whopping 95 lengths to win the Curlin Handicap.
And he couldn't have asked for a better showing on his Group 1, running reigning Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow close, before having to settle for third on Super Saturday.
"This is the hardest race on his calendar and his form is peaking at the right time and every run he's put in he's improved and he's going have to do it again of course we are mindful of that. But he just keeps on lifting the bar and taking it on and I'm really happy he's going into the race the way that he is," said Foster.
"We will be doing everything we possibly can to win but if we walk away with a top five finish I will be very happy with it. We've got to be realistic. It's not an easy race to win but we're going to throw everything we've got," he added.
james@khaleejtimes.com