Shea Shea and Dancewiththedevil

Shea Shea will not be taking part in the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot today and is instead likely to make his next start in the July Cup at Newmarket on 13 July. His young unbeaten stablemate, Soft Falling Rain, is also penciled in for the same race but has been nursing a back problem.

Another South African bred ran at Royal Ascot this week, the mare Dancewiththedevil. She was beaten 8 lengths in the Gr2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes. One preview suggested that she would have to run better than ever before to have a chance, this for a mare with five South African GR1 wins behind her, four of those against the boys. She had The Apache more than two lengths behind her in one of those victories, and he went on to perform admirably in Dubai.

In the end, Dancewiththedevil's poor run is more likely due to factors other than class. It was her first run outside of South Africa, her first start in more than 12 months, her first start with a new stable, and she is less than two months short of turning seven years old by southern hemisphere reckoning (already considered seven in the north). Hopefully she will fare better the next time she appears on the tracks, but she has little to prove and would be a valuable addition to many broodmare bands.

King's Stand Stakes (Gr1) at Royal Ascot

It was exciting to see a South African bred, with a legitimate shot at winning, racing at Royal Ascot. Shea Shea actually started favourite for the 5 furlong (1000 metre) sprint. 
 
With about 100 metres to go, I thought that Shea Shea had broken that UK Gr1 duck for South Africa. Unfortunately, he was nabbed on the line by the flying Sole Power, a horse that he beat twice in Dubai a few months ago, racing on the far side of the track.

It was a great run by Shea Shea. Now we wait to see if he will have a go at the Diamond Jubilee in a few days time, or wait for the July Cup.

Watch the race on You Tube.