Horse Racing: Cole to Make Russian Raid
Paul Cole's Fine Silver will make history when he becomes the first British-trained horse to race in Russia, in the President's Cup at Kazan.
Aintree has hosted challengers from the old Soviet Union in past Grand Nationals, but history will be made on Saturday when the Oxfordshire-based Paul Cole sends out the first British-trained horse to race in modern-day Russia.
Fine Silver will not be competing in any ordinary event. His objective is the President's Cup, a mile and a half contest worth 14m roubles (about £272,000), at a state-of-the-art racecourse in Kazan.
President Vladimir Putin will present the trophy as part of Kazan's millennium celebrations. Some 700 kilometres east of Moscow, in the Tatarstan republic, the recently-constructed track is the brainchild of businessman Rashit Shaikhoutdinov, who runs Fine Silver, winner of Newbury's Spring Cup, in the name of one of his daughters.
"I don't expect him to win," said Cole yesterday. "He's a miler really. But let's hope he runs well for the sake of all concerned. I went out to see the track there a month ago, and it has been finished to a very high standard."
The President's Cup, which is staged at different venues each year, forms the centrepiece of four days of celebration in Kazan. Racing is on the up in Russia, and Tatarstan alone has 11 racecourses.
"There are six or seven tracks in Russia of international standard," says John Sanderson, chief executive of International Racecourse Management Ltd, whose company is set to be involved in the new Kazan course.
"This one will be the brand leader, and already there are plans to stage an international meeting next year, with a race worth 1m dollars to the winner," he added.
"I witnessed the trial races there a month ago, and it really is a top-class racecourse. The racing surface is a form of polytrack, which is designed to accommodate trotting in the winter. The entire city of Kazan is undergoing a massive face-lift, and the new track is very much the showpiece.
"Kazan has been described as the last city of Europe and the first city of Asia," says Sanderson.
It may soon be firmly on the international racing map.
Fine Silver will not be competing in any ordinary event. His objective is the President's Cup, a mile and a half contest worth 14m roubles (about £272,000), at a state-of-the-art racecourse in Kazan.
President Vladimir Putin will present the trophy as part of Kazan's millennium celebrations. Some 700 kilometres east of Moscow, in the Tatarstan republic, the recently-constructed track is the brainchild of businessman Rashit Shaikhoutdinov, who runs Fine Silver, winner of Newbury's Spring Cup, in the name of one of his daughters.
"I don't expect him to win," said Cole yesterday. "He's a miler really. But let's hope he runs well for the sake of all concerned. I went out to see the track there a month ago, and it has been finished to a very high standard."
The President's Cup, which is staged at different venues each year, forms the centrepiece of four days of celebration in Kazan. Racing is on the up in Russia, and Tatarstan alone has 11 racecourses.
"There are six or seven tracks in Russia of international standard," says John Sanderson, chief executive of International Racecourse Management Ltd, whose company is set to be involved in the new Kazan course.
"This one will be the brand leader, and already there are plans to stage an international meeting next year, with a race worth 1m dollars to the winner," he added.
"I witnessed the trial races there a month ago, and it really is a top-class racecourse. The racing surface is a form of polytrack, which is designed to accommodate trotting in the winter. The entire city of Kazan is undergoing a massive face-lift, and the new track is very much the showpiece.
"Kazan has been described as the last city of Europe and the first city of Asia," says Sanderson.
It may soon be firmly on the international racing map.
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