Lifestyle - DETORRI TAKES "NERVOUS" RIDE WITH EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND

Godolphin star Frankie Detorri is known as one of the most fearless jockeys in the world, but at Dubai International Marine Club today he was a little apprehensive about going sailing.

"I'm quite nervous actually because it doesn't have four legs," quipped Detorri, before boarding one of the boats used in the Emirates Team New Zealand Pro Am match-racing series. "The only thing missing from these things is reins, then I'd be fine."

Detorri and fellow-jockey Ted Durcan were among the Emirates Airline guests who went into race action alongside Emirates Team New Zealand crew on the second day of the Pro-Am series.

In a little over a week Detorri will be riding Saeed bin Suroor-trained Electrocutionist in the Dubai World Cup and the mercurial Italian said form on the Cup was always hard to judge. "The thing is that many of the best horses are running in other parts of the world so you often don't know what's going to happen until you meet in the middle for the Cup," he said.

Electrocutionist won the US$300,000 Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Challenge on dirt over 2000 metres at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse two weeks ago by seven lengths, and Detorri was certain the horse was Godolphin's best chance for a win in the world's richest race.

Godolphin has won the Maktoum Challenge in the past with the likes of Dubai Millennium and Street Cry, both of whom went on to win the Dubai World Cup, which is on March 25.

"I'll be riding Eletrocutionist because that's our best shot," Dettori said. "He won a few weeks ago by seven lengths and that was great, but he was racing only local horses so we will really only see what he can do when the Cup arrives."

Dettori agreed that the Japanese horses were a real threat this year but warned against ruling out the American challengers.

- Tony Lewis, Total Communications -