A belated Happy New Year to you all, hope it wasn't to messy. I am not a fan of New Year overrated bunch of nonsense so give me a Chinese & a good film anytime.
After several months of fighting the urge it has dawned on me that NH Racing is really not my bag however much I have tried to follow it this season I have been left feeling underwhelmed. I attended the King George for the first time on Boxing Day last year & for all it was a terrific card the results left me feeling hollow, Annacotty had no right winning a Grade 1 while My Tent Or Yours was surely beaten had The New One not made a slight error at the last & in the big one itself my feeling of hollowness became a downright black hole...Silviniaco Conti?? Never did I see that horse being capable of winning a truly top chase over fences & his price contraction for the Gold Cup after his win was frankly ridiculous..he can't jump around Cheltenham....anyway enough of that as my NH depression has been saved with the glorious return of this year's Dubai International Racing Carnival at last there is some real quality Flat racing action back in my life for the next 3 months culminating in The Dubai World Cup.
Of course the Dubai racing scene has been going since the middle of November & Tadhg O'Shea has been making hay leading the domestic jockey's title with 19 winners from 92 rides netting some excellent prize money in the process mainly due to being associated with some of the best Pure Bred Arabian's, hot on his heels is UAE stalwart Wayne Smith with Dane O'Neill showing up well in 3rd. On the Trainer's front the excellent Musabah Al Muhairi leads the way from Ernst Oertel who again can thank his Purebred Arabian's for his 2nd placing in the overall leaderboard (he is only 8th in the Thoroughbred winners list).
See www.emiratesracing.com/racing-information/statistics for all the up to date information
Now the majority of International raiders are embarking on their campaigns the leaderboards will be in for a shake up not least from both sides of The Godolphin operation whose Saeed Bin Suroor has been the Champion Carnival Trainer for the last 6 years, this year he will face some tough opposition for to defend his crown for a 7th successive year namely from his Godolphin colleague Charlie Appleby whom worked alongside Saeed for many years so he will want to make a huge impression on his first outing as a Carnival Trainer in his own name & of course he will the ammunition to do so. Then we have the South African kingpin Mike De Kock who is perhaps better known as a Trainer of Carnival horses than anything else & he returns to Meydan again this season bringing with the excellent Soft Falling Rain (see below) who I fell in love with when I saw him at Newmarket at the end of last season. Forget his Ascot run on that desperately appaling on 'so-called' British Champions Day, he will be hard to beat back on the Tapeta & Grass throughout the Carnival .
Some points of note from watching the Carnival for the last few years that will hopefully stand us all in good stead are;
Keep an eye on horses who perform above average on the Tapeta:
As with all synthetic surfaces like Tapeta you will find certain animals being better suited to them than the turf. So it is best to take note of horses who seem to improve for the Meydan Tapeta circuit.
As with most races the Bookies & traditional punters often over bet the better known Turf horses higher & a so-called ‘synthetic freak’ may well be worth following through the whole meeting.
Don't discount the In-form local trainers:
The obvious trainers I have already mentioned but as with every carnival year a couple of the local trainers step up to the top table as seen last year with Satish Seemar whose Reynaldothewizard improved considerably to win the Dubai Golden Shaheen, while it was another good campaign for both Ali Rashid Al Raihe & Doug Watson.
The leading trainers at Meydan currently are Musabah Al Muhairi & in behind him is the aforementioned duo of Ali Rashid Al Raihe & Satish Seemar.
At present local trainers like Doug Watson & Mubarak Bin Shafya are having poor seasons.
A new name to watch out for could well be rookie trainer Ahmad Bin Harmash who has enjoyed an excellent start to his training career so far with 2 winners from 19 runners (9 of which have been placed) more crucial perhaps is that both the wins have been at Meydan courtesy of ex Godolphin duo Ormondo (see below) & Tarbawi.
Hamash is a former assistant to Mubarak Bin Shafya at the Al Aasfa Stables & is a native Emirati, who has a background in endurance riding. Having spent time with Bin Shafya himself a formerly very useful trainer of ex Godolphin horses (Gladiatorius & Eastern Anthem (see the japanese video below) spring to mind) it is clear that Hamash has been well schooled & it is that schooling that was noticed by Sheikh Mohammed.
Hamash appears to have a good team of horses & staff in place & in a recent interview with Gulf News thinks he may have a horse in his stable of cutting it on the Big stage in “Every trainer’s dream is to have a runner on Dubai World Cup night and that’s my dream as well,” he said. “Obviously you need to have a horse good enough to live that dream and I think Jamr can be that kind of horse. “He’s run at the top level, last year he contested all three legs of the Al Maktoum Challenge and he didn't run too badly. But the plan is to try him on turf this season and, if he does well, we’ll look at the Dubai City of Gold &, who knows, perhaps the Dubai Gold Cup on the big day.”
Jockeys:
Obvious starting point are Godolphin’s jockeys Silvestre De Sousa and Mickael Barzalona who are likely to challenge for leading honours, as will Sheikh Hamdan’s retained rider Paul Hanagan who has improved so much as a rider over the last 2 years. For me Silvestre rides Meydan beautifully & has formed a deadly alliance with Champion Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor, I would have De Sousa anyday over the mercurial young Frenchman Barzalona. Another French jockey who is perhaps the best rider around Meydan is Mike De Kock’s rider Christophe Soumillon.
Of the lesser known jockey's one who is often overlooked is Royston Ffrench who has enjoyed an excellent Dubai career over the years his biggest success so far on World Cup Night aboard Al Shemali in The Dubai Duty Free. (See below)
He has been in excellent form so far this season & is another who rides Meydan well. As I mentioned Ahmad Bin Harmash earlier it seems sensible to mention what would appear to be his first choice jockey in the shape of the Adrie De Vries who has gained valuable international experience over the last few years & has been riding well in the races I have seen recently.
So onto this Thursday's action; Race 1 of the DIRC 2014 features last year's shock winner winner Fityaan (having his first start since winning at 50/1). He is 6lbs higher tomorrow so is best watched. Refeej won at Meydan before Christmas on Tapeta & switches back to turf tomorrow & should remain competitive. The one to focus on in this race could well be the Tommy Stack trained Nero Emperor who won a quality Premier Handicap on his final start last season, he is only a few lbs higher tomorrow & looks likely to run a good race.
Other names to note are Bungleinthejungle, Monsieur Joe, old Racy goes for Koo's racing & formerly smart 2 year old Alhebayeb has his first start for Mike De Kock.
A 1m1f Handicap is up next features a lot of old boys who have been regulars at the Carnival for years now Submariner, Izaaj, Ottoman Empire, Specific Gravity, Layali Al Andalus & Busker for rookie trainer Ahamad Bin Marmash so I will definitely be keeping an eye on his performance. Another old boy Old Sweet Lightning is having his first attempt at the Carnival on his 2nd start for Middleham Park Racing & David O'Meara.
This race should in my eyes be fought out by the Godolphin duo with last year's Zetland Gold Cup winner Clon Brulee my pick ahead of former American Transparent who is the pick of Silvestre & on his last start finished 5 lengths behind Clark Handicap Winner & Breeders Cup Classic runner up Will Take Charge so he brings proper Graded form to a handicap but the majority of ex-American horses that Godolphin bring to the Carnival take at least a year to settle in. Clon Brulee (see below) does have to prove he handles Tapeta but I see no reason on breeding to doubt that he will.
Another top quality Handicap follows over 7f on Tapeta featuring the much improved Ocean Tempest, perennial Big Handicap bridesmaid Bertiewhittle, former Group 2 winner Fulbright, the improved Mont Ras, former Guineas hope Mutin (first start for Mike De Kock) & consistent Irish Handicapper Jamesie. I think looking at this race on paper that the Irish have another excellent chance with both Jamesie & Tennessee Wildcat who have both shown form at Dundalk recently in preparation for their attempt at the DIRC. I would have slight preference for Tennessee Wildcat from a stable that has a very good Canival record over the years. Mutin is a fascinating runner considering he started as short as 9/1 for last year's Jersey Stakes, his 2 subsequent runs were below par but as with Clon Brulee he should be more than capable of handling Tapeta so must go into the race with an excellent chance.
The Listed 1m1f Singspiel Stakes is one of the feature events on the first night of the Carnival & has attracted a strong looking field;
Dux Scholar: With yet another Trainer this former Sir Michael Stoute inmate has been everywhere in the last few years, he retains all of his ability but is a little high in the weights tomorrow.
David Livingstone: Managed to beat Telescope in Britain last year when winning the Group 3 Rose Of Lancaster. The type who should do well for Mike De Kock at a Carnival & should give a good account.
Artigiano: One of the Al Zarooni horses from last year's doping scandal. Has not seen the racetrack since his 2 year old days & it will some training performance to win this after a long layoff. (See below)
Tales Of Grimm: Found his mojo since moving North to Richard Fahey & has been in great form, hasn't appeared to act on Lingfield's AWT for me but Tapeta offers hope.
Mushreq: Last year's Al Fahidi Fort winner, the class act in this field.
Tarbawi: Comes from my stable to watch that of Ahmad Bin Harmash but surely on all known form faces an uphill task in this field.
Do It All: Tales Of Grimm's full brother & has been a bitter disappointment since his all the way win in the Zabeel Mile 2 years ago.
Fervent Prince: Should not be up to this on his return from 2 years off.
Rasmy: Another out of his depth.
Gabriel: The mercurial talent that is Gabriel, I have always had a soft spot for him mainly due to him being one of the last grandson's of the horse I grew up with the great Mtoto. He is very talented on his day & Dubai may well suit so I expect a good run.
Burano: Has not won a race since winning the Al Naboodah 2 years ago & is most likely to finish about 6th or 7th.
Derbaas: Old boy who has been going ok recently & was an Al Fahidi Fort winner in 2011.
Cracking little race with preference for Mushreq.
The main feature race on Night one is the first round of the Al Maktoum Challenge which in all honesty is not as good for me in terms of quality as the Singspiel.
Daddy Long Legs: Been a bitter disappointment since a promising 2 year old campaign. Big ask.
Brendan Brackan: Massively improved Handicapper who dotted up at last year's Galway Festival, Graduated to Group 3 winner towards the end of the season. Yard does well here & should handle the surface. (See below)
Samurai Sword: Finished in behind a couple of useful sorts last time out at Meydan & is very lightly raced for one of his age. Interesting.
Capital Attraction: Good horse over the years but a lacklustre campaign last year & noty up to this.
Steeler: The horse of the whole night for the purists, was an excellent 2 year old who was robbed of his 3 year old campaign by Al Zarooni. Big ask after a year off, clearly has been handling Tapeta in training. (see below)
Shuruq: Good quality filly who won last year's UAE Oaks after a string of good performances. Should enjoy the return to Tapeta & is expected to go close.
Mufarrh: Grand old campaigner & ran well behind Surfer at Meydan before Christmas. Nearly back to a winning mark so has chances.
Empire Storm: Consistent Ex German horse who has been placed in an awful lot of Group races remains to be seen whether the switch to Tapeta can bring about the desired improvement.
Rerouted: Dual winner at last year's Carnival but is now up in Grade. To be fair he should cope as it is not the strongest of Group 2's so is respected.
Barbecue Eddie: 10 years young & has become somewhat of a Meydan favourite for the locals. Had a fantastic end to 2012 & won this race last year completing the 4 timer. Struggled afterwards & returns back at his last winning mark.
Interesting race primarily due to the return of Steeler but for win purposes I like the chances of the Irish horse Brendan Brackan.
A 7f Turf Handicap closes Meydan's card & my word it looks tough more old favourites return including Dafeef, Iguazu Falls & Disa Leader to name a few. The Gold Cheongsam goes for Jeremy Noseda & must have a good chance against all the old timers. Complicate goes for Saeed Bi Suroor, & has in truth just ok form from Down Under looking harshly weighted judged on his last few runs.
Nawwaar won Abu Dhabi's National Day Cup before Christmas so he is respected after re-finding the winning thread. Perhaps the most interesting runner is Now Spun who won a small trial for the UAE Derby before disappointing i the main event. He had one run in England albeit very disappointing at Bath in September & has since left Godolphin for the more than capable Ali Al Raihe.
Hope you all enjoy a fabulous Dubai International Racing Carnival & I don't often say it but if you can watch it on RacingUK for James Willoughby's unmissable thoughts on the action he's also most definitely worth a follow on Twitter @Prof_Hindsight
Also check back in with my blog throughout the DIRC & you can follow me on Twitter @fttfracing
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