Barzalona born to be a jockey, says Al Zarouni
Decision to let Mickael Barzalona ride Monterosso was Shaikh Mohammad's, trainer says
Dubai: Dubai World Cup winning trainer Mahmoud Al Zarouni has showered praise on champion jockey Mickael Barzalona, saying that he was "born to be a jockey".
"The way he [Barzalona] took him, especially at the end of the race showed us his class and temperament for the big occasion. He was born to be a jockey," Al Zarouni told Gulf News as he tried to come to terms with possibly the biggest win yet of his career as trainer.
Monterosso powered away in the run home to beat stablemate Capponi ridden by Ahmad Ajtebi by three lengths, with Planteur - trained in England by Italian Marco Botti - a half-length away in third place in the world's richest race, on Saturday night. "I am too overwhelmed with the occasion and I cannot say what I really feel," the trainer admitted.
"But this horse has been a great champion and Barzalona had made things look so easy for us," he said. "He stayed the course so well. He made a statement for all of us - this win is for Godolphin and for the UAE."
Al Zarouni admitted that he is enjoying his time with Godolphin, and his stay as one of two trainers for the men in blue is the easy manner of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
"We don't have any sort of pressure on us. He [Shaikh Mohammad] is always so supporting. We're very, very lucky to have an owner like him. Even when we lose he is there telling us not to worry, but go out there and give it our best. He understands the world of horses so well," Al Zarouni said.
Answering a query on how things work at Godolphin when it comes to choosing which jockey mounts which horse.
"We all sit down and talk about it. The boss asks me for my opinion and I give him my plan, and it is he [Shaikh Mohammad] who decides who will be riding which horse. The decision to put Ahmad [Al Ajtebi] on Capponi and Mickael [Barzalona] on Monterosso was the boss's decision," he related.
Al Zarouni narrated how he had not slept at all the previous [Friday] night. "Someone asked me if I had dreamt about winning and I told him that I did not dream, simply because I had not slept at all the previous night," the trainer said.
"This has nothing to do with pressure, but it's just that I keep on challenging myself to get better with each race," he added.
