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| Staff Writer |
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One of the highlights of the Dubai Racing Carnival is quickly closing in - Super Saturday.
Serving as the perfect appetisers ahead of the Dubai World Cup, which will take place later in March, nine races will form Saturday’s card, and there is an abundance of prestigious Group races up for grabs.
As is often the case with Super Saturday, the card is loaded with talented horses from all over the globe, with runners from the UK, Ireland, Japan, America and Europe all having been declared.
Despite some of the world’s very best and most successful owners, breeders and trainers all due to be in attendance this weekend, one horse that will line up this weekend hoping to shock the rest of the world is Ponntos.
6YO Ponntos will lead the charge for the Czech Republic on Super Saturday. Although the Czech Republic isn’t viewed as a powerhouse of the sport, trainer Miroslav Nieslanik hopes to change that.
A veteran of the track, Saturday will be Ponntos’s 34th career start, and he will hope to add a seventh victory in the Gr.3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint. Having already enjoyed success at Meydan, he will head into Saturday’s race looking to hold every chance.
Seemingly getting better with age, Ponntos has enjoyed a successful stint in the Middle East, and Saturday will mark his final race in the region before heading home.
Before Ponntos takes to the track in the hope of shining an even bigger spotlight on Czech racing, we were lucky enough to sit down with Nieslanik to get his views.
Ponntos is ready to take his chance in the 2024 Al Sheba Turf Sprint
The action in this year’s Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint is set to be fast and furious, but one thing you can be assured of is Ponntos taking his position at the head of affairs. An all-the-way victor back in December when a gutsy winner of the listed Ertijaal Dubai Dash, he showed that race was no flash in the pan when finishing second in the 2024 Gr.2 Blue Point Splash.
With Ponntos enjoying his racing out in the Middle East, he was sent to the 2024 Jebel Ali Sprint but could only finish in fifth.
Looking to sign off his time in the Middle East with a flourish in the Nad Al Sheba, Nieslanik holds no concerns over Ponntos’s busy recent calendar.
‘He is usually a very busy horse but is in good shape. He is loving the sand track at Meydan, and after he returns back home, he will get some rest. We have to keep him busy as there aren’t many races for him over 1000m back home in Europe.’
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Despite the promise of his first two starts, many viewed Ponntos’s fifth-place finish in the Jebel Ali Sprint as a significant setback for his preparations for the Nad Al Sheba, but this isn’t a view that Nieslanik shares.
‘His last run in the Jebel Ali Sprint was always going to take him out of his comfort zone. However, we were very satisfied with how he ran. Considering the race was on dirt and contained an uphill finish, we were proud of how he kept on fighting to the line.’
Only beaten by just over two lengths, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Ponntos’s chances in Saturday’s race, and he will line up against many familiar foes.
Although the winner of the Jebel Ali Sprint, Colour Up, hasn’t been declared, Al Shibli, who finished second in the race, Star of Mystery, who defeated Ponntos in the Blue Point Sprint and Bilhayl, who Ponntos beat in the Ertijaal Dubai Dash, will all be in attendance. Despite the fierce challenge ahead, Nieslanik doesn’t hold any fears.
‘We are looking forward to the race, he came out of the Jebel Ali well and wasn’t sore. A race of this nature always attracts the best horses, and although he works best at 800m, he has run well over 1000m in the past, and we are looking forward to taking on quality horses such as Star of Mystery and Bilhayl again.’
Few runners in this Saturday’s Nad Al Sheba field are as well-travelled as Ponntos, who has raced in many prestigious races in England and Europe. Despite now being six, another busy summer could lie in store. However, any talks of future plans and races have been shelved by Nieslanik, who only wants to focus on Saturday and then get his superstar home.
‘The racing season in the Czech Republic starts in early April, so when he gets home, he will have a well-earned rest. We are delighted with how he has started the year, but it’s still early on, so we will see what will come next once he returns.’
With Nieslanik and his daughter Eva Nieslanikova looking to raise the profile of Czech horse racing, the hope is that Ponntos is paving the way for other horses and trainers from the country to follow in their footsteps, and there seems to be plenty of cause for optimism. Nieslanik himself is hopeful and told us that ‘we do have some promising young runners who are going to run for the first time this year.’
However, for now, it is Ponntos who is still the jewel in the crown of Czech racing.
Loved by Nieslanik and the entire team, he describes his star as ‘Stubborn, competitive and fast.’
With the Nad Al Sheba standing to be one of the toughest tests of Ponntos’s career, it looks to be a race that is stacked with talent, and he will need to rely on all three of those characteristics if he is to come out on top.
A victory would confirm Ponntos’ status as a superstar of the sprint division and show the rest of the racing world that runners from the Czech Republic need to be treated seriously.
History awaits, and the racing fraternity of the Czech Republic is holding its breath.