Bhupat Seemar, champion trainer in his first season in Dubai, talks to Laura King about UAE Derby runner-up Summer Is Tomorrow's Kentucky Derby mission
It turns out that the chance to Run For The Roses can come when you least expect it. That’s certainly the case for the UAE’s new champion trainer Bhupat Seemar, who finds himself with a contender for Churchill Downs within just a few months of taking out a licence in the shape of UAE Derby runner-up Summer Is Tomorrow.
Seemar, 45, took over the reins at Zabeel Stables in Dubai in November, after his uncle and mentor, the six-time champion Satish Seemar, was temporarily suspended by the Emirates Racing Authority.
It is a situation the stable hope will be resolved soon, but in the meantime, the younger Seemar, a long-time assistant to his uncle, has enjoyed a huge season at home. The stable’s 47 wins included Switzerland, who gave the trainer his first G1 – and a first for stable jockey, the multiple UAE champion Tadhg O’Shea – in the Dubai Golden Shaheen on World Cup night.
“It’s almost been a dream,” says Seemar. “To get a Dubai World Cup night winner and then the championship was incredible. It’s all thanks to the team – you need a good team behind you.”
About 35 minutes before Switzerland on the World Cup card came Summer Is Tomorrow. Ridden by Mickael Barzalona, he took up the lead in the UAE Derby from the off and relinquished it to Japanese visitor Crown Pride only in the final furlong. It was a bold effort and one which looked unlikely beforehand, as the son of Summer Front had never previously run over further than seven furlongs.
“I thought if they left him alone up front he might be able to do something,” says the trainer, who was born and brought up in India. “They went a good clip which made things harder for him, but he stayed on really well.
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“I’m not sure if we can reverse form with the winner [Crown Pride] as he’s a pretty good horse, but maybe with more conditioning, like if I’d have given him a two-turn race before the UAE Derby, he would have run an even better race.”
Although Summer Is Tomorrow is set to be his first US runner, Seemar is far from a stranger to the States, having enjoyed a spell as an intern at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky before spending five years in California with Bob Baffert.
As such, he’s familiar with the razzmatazz of Churchill Downs in all its glory. “I was there when War Emblem won and I was there for the Baffert runners while I worked for him,” he says. “It’s pretty amazing that we’re going to be a part of it.”
Seemar has just returned to Dubai from a successful trip to the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale, where he and Satish combined to be top buyers; he will be represented by wife Caroline, a former apprentice to trainer John Oxx, when Summer Is Tomorrow flies to Kentucky on Wednesday.
“Caroline is going a day before the horse goes and I’ll go a week later,” he says. “He has to walk for three or four days anyway when he gets there, as he’ll spend three days in Chicago where there’s no training track, and then he’ll truck down to Louisville.
“Caroline is very, very dedicated,” he goes on. “She doesn’t miss anything and she used to be a work rider for D. Wayne Lukas, as well as Jack Van Berg, so she has plenty of experience of America.”
That knowledge could stand the team in good stead, although they are under no illusions as to the scale of the task facing Summer Is Tomorrow, a US-bred son of Summer Front who was bought by Tadhg O’Shea for £120,000 at the Arqana Breeze-up in Doncaster last May. Since then, he’s won two of his seven starts, both at seven furlongs; his main asset is his gate speed, although he won’t be alone in that.
“There’s going to be a lot of speed – we just want a track that’s got no surprises,” says the trainer. “We don’t want to go all that way and get a sloppy track. We’ll do what the Americans do and have plenty of paddock and gate schooling beforehand.”
While Seemar understandably has a trainer’s caution, owners the Burke family are riding a wave of excitement, having stumped up the $6,000 late entry fee to see their colt take his chance.
“We’re really, really excited – for a small owner to get into the Kentucky Derby is a dream,” says Michael Burke, whose father, Michael Snr, and Michael’s wife Negar, own the colt.
“When you look at the entries most of them are from big farms, there aren’t many for small Irish owners.
“This horse is actually owned by my wife and father – when I put the horses in her name this year they all started winning! She brought the luck.”
The family have five horses in Dubai and before Summer Is Tomorrow burst onto the scene their best was Lady Snazz, a 74-rated daughter of Curlin who has won twice this season at Jebel Ali.
Unlike their trainer, the Kentucky Derby will be a totally new experience for the Burke family. “Two weeks before the UAE Derby I started looking into Kentucky,” says Michael.
“I actually thought he had a good chance as he had sore shins when he was seventh [on his second run, at Meydan in December] and an abscess when he was fourth [at Jebel Ali in February] when he’d missed some work. I thought he’d improve five or six lengths, but I think I was the only one who thought he could win.”
The Burke family have horses in Ireland, where Burke Sr. has a few in training, with Joseph O’Brien and Johnny Murtagh, while Burke Jr. says he “did rodeo for a while in Australia.”
They plan to fully embrace the Louisville experience, pending some understanding from the American immigration office.
“We are all planning to go over,” continues Burke. “But my wife is Iranian, so we’re just waiting to see if she can get a visa. We’re hoping and praying she can go too, but if not, I’ve told her I’ll take the kids so she can have a local holiday.”
Small-scale owners, a first-season trainer and a horse who has only once run further than seven furlongs – could this be the latest Kentucky Derby fairytale?
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