Seeking The Dia hopes for another eastern surprise
Seeking The Dia will bid to emulate the feat of compatriot Agnes World and give Japan a second success in the Darley July Cup at Newmarket tomorrow.
The Storm Cat colt hails from the stable responsible for Agnes World’s famous 2000 win in the Group One sprint and has quickly accustomed to his new surroundings, although the threat of significant rain is a concern.
“Seeking The Dia has been in great condition since his arrival in the UK,” said trainer Hideyuki Mori today.
“The journey from Japan does not seem to have troubled him at all.
“It’s a tough course, but we have been schooling him on the Heath for two hours a day over the past two weeks so we know roughly what to expect.
"He has handled it well during these training sessions. But he is not too keen on soft so the forecast is slight worry for us.”
He will, though, have what could be the favoured far rail to race against having been drawn in stall one.
“It is a good draw for us, he will like being in that position,” Mori added. “He prefers to be a front-runner and jumps out well. My instructions are just to let him race in a position that both he and the jockey feel comfortable with.”
Seeking The Dia has a lot to live up to as Agnes World was a top-class performer who also landed the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp in 1999.
So how do the two compare?
“It’s very difficult to compare Seeking The Dia to Agnes World,” Mori explained. “Agnes World was an incredibly powerful racehorse, Seeking The Dia does not seem to have quite the same strength.”
