Joy And Fun on Dubai World Cup Night for Karaka

Following in the hoof-prints of Vengeance of Rain, Joy And Fun became the second Karaka graduate to record a stakes victory on the prestigious Dubai World Cup night, winning the Group 3 Al Quoz Sprint (1200m) on Saturday.

Outclassing a well-credentialed field of 16 sprinters down the new straight-six at the Meydan track, Joy and Fun (Cullen x Gin Player by Defensive Play) raced handier than usual in the hands of Brett Doyle. In the closing stages he ground away at Breeders Cup Sprint placegetter California Flag's (Avenue of Flags) lead to win by three-quarters-of-a-length. Also finishing close up were multiple stakes winners Fravashi (Falbrav) and War Artist (Orpen), and Group 1 winning Australian hope All Silent (Belong to Me).

His ecstatic�trainer Derek Cruz commented post race "I haven't got the words to express it hardly. I feel really proud, he pinged out of the gates and was more prominent than I thought he would be and Brett kept him there all the way and with a great ride and I guess at home he is more of a 1400 meter horse, so his stamina for this straight told in the end."

The now six-year-old was bred by Scott Williams and is a half-brother to the tough dual Group 1 winning racemare, Zarita (Pentire) and also Run Like the Wind (Pins). Gin Player produced a filly by Zabeel in the Spring before trying to reproduce the success of Zarita, visiting Rich Hill Stud's Pentire for the season.

Ill-fated sire Cullen (Danehill) stood at Westbury Stud for just five seasons before suffering from complications from a high temperature in November, 2005.

Joy and Fun has now won on ten occasions with Saturday's US$1 million race victory adding to his HK-3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup and HK-3 Premier Cup wins. His next aim is tipped to be the Group 1 Krisflyer International Sprint in Singapore on 16 May.

The win is a good example of the versatility of the New Zealand-bred with former Hong Kong-based galloper Vengeance of Rain (Zabeel) the only other to race from Hong Kong and win at the world's richest race-meeting.

In a timely boost to the upcoming National Weanling, Broodmare and Mixed Bloodstock Sale from 3 - 5 May, Joy And Fun was purchased as a weanling for $15,000 from Java Lodge. The catalogues for the sale will be online this Thursday with the hard-copy available early next week. To request a catalogue email [email protected] or phone +64 9 298 0055.