- Prague stormed to victory in the Dubai Joel Stakes at Newmarket on Friday
- The colt was previously bought for just £10,000 by Amedeo dal Pos last year
- Impressive victories mean Prague’s earnings now stand at a huge £114,455
No other sport can match racing’s ability to produce fairytales and so it proved once again as a Ballydoyle cast-off catapulted his owner and trainer into the big time.
Prague, whose father is the super sire Galileo, started his career being trained by Aidan O’Brien along with so many other bluebloods but he never raced for him. He was sold for £10,000 last October at the Horses In Training sale, his new owner Amedeo dal Pos investing his savings in the colt.
Dal Pos works in the Newmarket yard of Dylan Cunha. He was a trainer in his native South Africa before training to be a commercial pilot; he only returned to a life with horses after Covid struck and he lost his job as the airline for whom he worked went bust.
There was no question anyone other Cunha was going to train Prague for dal Pos, who comes from Venice but has worked in Newmarket for the past 12 years. They have worked together for the past 18 months and dal Pos reports to work each day at 4am.
Through the summer, they have seen Prague – who made a winning debut at odds of 40/1 at Sandown in April – get stronger and quicker and everything magically came together on a squally afternoon on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile course.
Prague won the Dubai Joel Stakes in impressive fashion at Newmarket on Friday
Prague ridden by jockey Daniel Tudhope charged clear of the competition at Newmarket
Amedeo dal Pos (pictured) investing his savings by paying £10,000 for the colt last year
Prague, ridden by Danny Tudhope, powered clear in the Group Two Joel Stakes – a key race over a mile – to beat joint-favourites Task Force and Poker Face by upwards of three-and-a-half lengths and pocket £70,887.50 for connections.
His earnings now stand at £114,455, meaning the initial investment has been returned tenfold.
‘He’s just that good and he’s improved so much,’ gasped Cunha.
a‘He’s a big, immature baby and is only going to get better. It’s an incredible story. He is a nice horse and if we could get a few nice horses it would be even better. We have got big decisions to make in the next few days.’
Prague’s earnings now stand at £114,455, meaning the initial investment has been returned tenfold
Dylan Cunha trained Prague after quitting his job as a commercial pilot after Covid struck
Those options include whether to roll the dice again and pay £70,000 to supplement him for the QIPCO Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Champions Day next month or give Prague a break and bring him back next summer to start in The Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.
Either way, he has given everyone connected with him the reason to dream and this is exactly what should happen in racing – dal Pos, whose wife Federica was overjoyed as he brought Prague into the winners’ enclosure, could not believe his faith had been vindicated.
‘I have always had horses in my life,’ said dal Pos, whose care and attention for Prague was highlighted by him also winning the award for the best turned out horse in the four-runner field, as well as the groom’s prize.
‘I ride Prague every day in his work. Everything is going so well. When I saw him starting to go clear, oh, my heart was beating so fast. The most important thing, always, is for my horse to come back safe and well. These horses are a part of my heart.’
