Very Is Special In Cape Verdi

Very Special was the easy winner of the G2 Cape Verdi Sponsored By EGA over a mile on turf at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, February 4, coming home three lengths ahead of the runner-up Excilly.

The four-year-old filly, having her sixth career start, made most of the running. Breaking from the outside stall of seven, James Doyle had Very Special wide as she raced prominently and a bit keenly.

Very Special, trained by Saeed bin Suroor, was kept wide by herself for two furlongs before coming across to the inside rail. She enjoyed a decent lead when joining the others and was in command from then on.

James Doyle kicked for home after entering the straight and Very Special ran on strongly, winning unchallenged in 1m 37.88s.

The jockey commented: "I was pleased with Very Special as, on all form that she had shown beforehand, she needed to step up tonight.

"The guys have done a good job with her at home - she wears a hood to keep her relaxed but she is quite highly-strung.

"Very Special has taken to everything well out here and has definitely improved for training on the turn at Al Quoz - it has certainly kept her sweet.

"It is only my second year at Al Quoz but I have seen these fillies come out, get some sun on their backs and really blossom.

"We were a little bit worried about the outside draw. She doesn't have to make the running and ideally she wants a bit of cover but I thought that I would have been pulling whether I was in front or trying to settle in. Everyone else was looking at each other and it just happened that we ended up in front.

"The rest of the field left me to it and she is willing, so I was going as slow as I could in front. She has a generous way of racing but stays well, so I knew that being out in front wouldn't inconvenience her.

"The extra furlong of the Balanchine (G2, March 3) shouldn't be a problem for her. She hit the line well tonight and took an age to pull up afterwards."