Hello & welcome along to my review of last night's action from The Dubai International Racing Carnival. As stated in my previous day's preview it had been the first time in a good few months that I had been excited about Racing again, nothing against the National Hunt game but clearly for me as I have got older it has become harder to enthuse about outside the Cheltenham & Aintree Festivals so the start of Dubai is a real gem for the next 2 months.
The first night is always about bedding in, seeing how far forward Mike De Kock's horses are & if Godolphin are going to dominate again plus which if any of the local trainers can compete against a much stronger class of horse.
We I feel gained answers to all of the above; The De Kock horses that have come from South Africa or Europe were needing the runs while the ones that had stayed in Dubai for the year were much further forward. Relative Godolphin newcomer (at least to the general racing public) Charlie Appleby hit the ground running with a double & his older longer serving Godolphin main man the extremely eloquent & courteous Saeed Bin Suroor took the feature for an 8th time with a good performance from the filly Shuruq. (See below)
The piece I did on Ahmad Bin Harmash in my preview was always a gamble but it paid off in style yesterday as he struck with the 12/1 shot Busker, he clearly has horses that are of a certain level but with the depth that the Maktoum's have at their disposal there will always be a few horses that slip through Godolphin's clutches & benefit from a less intense structured routine so judging by the runs of Bin Harmash's horses yesterday he looks set to have a decent first Carnival of his own, he is also lucky enough to have the skills of Adrie De Vries in the saddle who I thought gave Busker a peach of a ride in a steadily run race.
Obviously its early days for better known UAE trainer's but Doug Watson's team does appear to be out of form with only the enigmatic Dafeef running well for his stable whereas Satish Seemar & Ali Al Raihe remain in good form. One trainer who failed to have a placed animal was Musabah Al Muhairi which was disappointing but then it was quite clearly down to the horses not being good enough on the night as he has had 4 winners from 5 runners at Jebel Ali today so his time will come.
In yesterday's opening event it paid to race just off the far rail as the prominent horses dominated, the rain that had fallen earlier the week still had an effect on the ground as those drawn high or who missed the break never got into contention. My selection Nero Emperor was badly blocked about 3f out & then broke down with a suspected broken pelvis, my condolences go to his connections.
Winner Ahtoug was given a stalking Barzalona ride to collar long time leader Hototo on the line, in truth quite cosily, he will no doubt step up in grade. He is untested on Tapeta but races as though that surface will not be a problem, on his day he is a very decent sprint handicapper who looks capable of holding his own up in grade. Gallant runner-up Hototo ran with zest but remains 4lb above his last winning mark so will be hard to place. Desert Law however ran a race full of promise back in 3rd racing on the worst side of the track he made steady progress to be in behind the leaders before flattening out to hang onto 3rd. He is hard to win with but is 1lb below his last winning mark & given a better draw he can win again.
Roicead was the eyectaching fast finisher but it was probably due to unfit rivals in front of him dropping away, he is capable but needs to be dropped a few more lbs. Old Take Ten was the other strong finisher but was another to be flattered by how the race was run. Of the others I would be inclined to give My Propeller another chance as she was drawn on the wrong side & the slight moisture in the ground would not have been to her liking.
I won't spend long on the 1m1f Tapeta Handicap as it was contested by mainly mediocre old boys. It was run at a very slow pace set by James Doyle on Izaaj until Silvestre De Sousa took hold of the race on ex-American horse Transparent & made an early move quickening the pace appreciably, the horse could not hold this & faded towards the finish, he looks one to watch for now as with the majority of ex-American horses that Godolphin bring over they take a year to bed in. Clon Brulee in the circumstances ran well, the way the race was run did not suit & he could not quicken when his stable companion surged clear instead he plugged on for 6th, the surface was inconclusive but I think he can be competitive back on Turf later in the Carnival. The winner Busker as I said earlier was given a great ride by Adrie De Vries & won decisively. Off 95 yesterday he will go up I would guess 5 - 6lbs so that may halt this likeable animal.
The 7f Tapeta Handicap was another relatively slowly run race this time dictated by the incomparable Ahmed Ajtebi on Modern History who almost held on only succumbing late on to the surging former Group 2 winner Fulbright & Barzalona (see below) to provide trainer Charlie Appleby with a 1-2. Both horses are very capable & it is likely that Fulbright will step up in class for one of the upcoming Group races over 1 mile while Modern History should be able to win in Handicap grade if he can build on this excellent run. Bertiewhittle gives the form a strong look but he remains hard to place. Mont Ras ran well to a point but is another who will most likely struggle to be better than placed throughout the coming weeks.
Maraheb made up a lot of ground up the inside & is handicapped to win again so he may be one for one of the lesser Carnival Handicaps. Mutin thought good enough to contest last season's Jersey Stakes ran as well as could be expected from his draw & the way he was ridden dropped right out the back admittedly only just behind Fulbright the difference was that he pulled slightly. It was only his 7th start & to me he showed enough in the straight to be considered next time, I think Turf may be his optimum as he didn't quicken as well on the Tapeta. Another factor was that he clearly needed the run as all the De Kock imported horses throughout the evening had done. Tennessee Wildcat was another who was in behind & ran on ok in the straight perhaps he is a shade to high in the Handicap. Jamesie ran well to a point but again looks like he will be hard to place.
The first running of The Singspiel was as expected dominated by the class animal of the race, Mushreq who showed an excellent attitude to put his head & power to the line. It was a good performance in another slowly run race courtesy to the returning bull of a horse Artigiano.
Gabriel ran as I expected brilliantly but he is a dog & I think could have won but he didn't seem to fancy it, he travelled best of all in behind & when Hayley switched him in behind leaders I thought he might have this but in truth Mushreq wanted it more. I'm not going to be over hard on Gabriel though as fitness was a likely factor along with the slightly softer ground, he needs it like a road so races like the Al Fahidi Fort & Zabeel Mile look right up his street. He always comes with a health warning but I do think he can win in Dubai. Artigano did well to finish 3rd after pulling most of the way round & it was an encouraging return. Tales Of Grimm had a pretty bad trip & was finishing up against the rails, he is just below Group class so it will be hard for him in the next few weeks. David Livingston was a bitter disappoint but then he can be overall.
Shuruq (see below, white cap) became the first filly to win the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 & in doing so put herself firmly on course for a crack at the next 2 rounds & a likely date in the World Cup itself she is a much better filly on Tapeta than turf & showed a good attitude to stay on down the outside to collar the almost perfect ride that Kieran Fallon gave to Empire Storm who excelled himself in 2nd. Brendan Brackan ran a tremendous race considering the slow pace would have been against him & clearly handled the Tapeta, where they go with him next is unclear as the Group races will get stronger but he handles both surfaces so that keeps his options open & I can see him winning before the end of the Carnival.
Steeler who looked very fit beforehand got edgy before the off (cue the off drugs jokes) he lost his race there as he pulled for 2f & failed to handle the bend looking ungainly as he meandered of a normal course before regathering himself to actually stay on nicely in 4th. He patently needs further & will improve tons for this. The others were all put in there place with only Rerouted running with any credit back down in Handicap company he may be competitive when the Dubai Desert Classic is on & his part owner Lee Westwood is in town.
The closing 7f Turf Handicap had a stick a pin in it look about it but in the end was won in quite decisive fashion by the former dual South American Grade 1 winner Anaerobio who took this off a career high mark of 106, he will have to step up in Grade which will be harder but as former 10f Grade 1 winner he will have options. Old boy Iguazu Falls ran a stormer in 2nd for his trainer Bin Harmash. Old Dafeef the thief ran pretty well in 3rd but will likely finish last next time. Roi Du Vitesse now representing Qatar ran an excellent race coming from almost last to 4th, he is quite highly rated however from contesting Group races in England as a 2yr old so will struggle to repeat this effort.
Royal Ridge ran ok in behind but appears to be a morning glory, Free Wheeling also ran ok & back on Tapeta he can be dangerous. Old Dormello made late headway up the rails getting caught in traffic eventually finishing 7th considering he stays 12f this was a great effort & I wouldn't be too surprised if he was to pop up in the next few weeks. The favourite the ex-Aussie Complicate was in truth well beat looking like one to avoid, his form from Australia as I noted in my previous blog was just average & he did not justify favouritism.
Horses to follow:
My Propeller - Given quick ground & a lower draw
Mutin - Better draw & most likely on Turf
Gabriel - When it is riding like a road & I think a Zabeel Mile may be his for the taking
Free Wheeling - 7f Tapeta Handicap in the next few weeks
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