DUBAI: Thursday’s Racing at Meydan card features a fitting preview of the 10-night Dubai World Cup Carnival, which commences for nine consecutive Thursdays starting on Jan. 3 and ultimately ends with Super Saturday, Mar. 9. Seven races are on tap, including a pair of Listed AED 265,000 (about $72,000) stakes, the Dubai Creek Mile and The Entisar. The evening’s racing will be sponsored by Pillar Partner Azizi Developments with a first post of 6:30 p.m.
Much like Paul McCartney’s comeback album (‘Egypt Station’) this past autumn, another One Man Band makes a surprise return with ambitions to debut, like said record, at number one on the charts. The Dubai-based Thoroughbred namesake, who races in the colours of Sheikh Saeed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, was a record-setter, himself, when winning the 2016 Godolphin Mile (G2) and enters off a 999-day layoff. Boasting a record of 8-for-16, all of the son of Pivotal’s victories have been at Meydan, including four Dubai World Cup Carnival tallies and five wins over this trip.
Since then, proceedings have not gone exactly to plan for the gelding who captured the imagination of the global racing scene with a track-record procession (in his aforementioned triumph) one start after coming within two one-hundredths of a second of setting another—a 1400m handicap effort in which he easily defeated 2018 Godolphin Mile winner Heavy Metal. Picking up old friend Sam Hitchcott in the saddle on Thursday, ’Band will be on the run from post four of seven declared, as trainer Doug Watson’s hopeful plans ‘come together’ to help him ‘get back’ to form.
“One Man Band has been off the track for over two years and he’ll definitely improve from the run. He has been training great,” said Watson, who also saddles two other horses, each making their second starts of the season—Mohd Khalifa Al Basti’s Stunned (Pat Dobbs, post one) and Zaur Sekrekov’s Thegreatcollection (Adrie de Vries, post six).
“Stunned is in fine shape since his 1200m win in November,” he continued. “Thegreatcollection, if he can settle and put his best foot forward, should also be competitive. Hopefully all three have decent chances in the race.”
One Man Band’s chief rival on rating is Nasir Askar’s Secret Ambition, who is unraced since finishing 10th of 13 in Heavy Metal’s Godolphin Mile on Mar. 31. A half-brother to Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1) winner Royal Marine—a possible for the road to the UAE Derby (G2) this Carnival for Godolphin and Saeed bin Suroor—Secret Ambition exits a season in which his upward trajectory topped with a runner-up effort in Kimbear’s Burj Nahaar (G3) on Super Saturday. Richard Mullen rides the Satish Seemar-conditioned son of Exceed and Excel from the outside post.
“He’s in very good form and we believe he’s in as good of shape as last season, when he won three times,” Seemar said. “The only problem is he is drawn widest of all and things can get difficult from there, but he’s healthy, fit and doing really well, so we’ll see how he goes.”
The yard behind Heavy Metal—who rocked this race last year with a one-sided performance—is represented by Sultan Ali’s Capezzano, who breaks from post three under Royston Ffrench for trainer Sandeep Jadhav. The son of Bernardini’s two career wins have been over this surface, including a handicap victory in February over this 1600m trip. Still arguably rather unexposed, the good-looking 4-year-old gelding makes his 11th start.
“Capezzano is a very good horse and has won here over a mile last season before he ran (13th) in the Godolphin Mile,” Jadhav said. “He has been in good form at home, but this is his first race of the season and he will progress. Having said that, he has drawn well, so we are expecting him to run well in a competitive race.”
The field is completed by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Mussabeh Al Mheiri-trained Zainhom (Dane O’Neill, post two), a Street Cry 4-year-old gelding out of a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) runner-up Aragorn, and Abdullah Seed Al Naboodah’s Ahmad bin Harmash-trained last-out handicap winner Rodaini (Connor Beasley, post five).
Over the same 2000m dirt course and distance as the world’s richest horse race, the US$12 million Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), The Entisar (Listed) has attracted a quality field of nine, including not just last year’s winner, Etijaah, but also Second Summer and Furia Cruzada, the pair who fought out a thrilling finish to Al Maktoum Challenge R2 (G2) in 2017 on both their local debuts.
Trained by Erwan Charpy, Furia Cruzada came out on top in that battle royale under Antonio Fresu by a fast-diminishing nose. Thrice a Grade 1 winner in her native South America, the 7-year-old Newfoundland mare finished that 2017 season in the Dubai World Cup, when 13thbehind Arrogate. She was seventh in this year’s renewal behind Thunder Snow, her most recent racecourse appearance, having previously finished third in the Al Maktoum Challenge R3 (G1) over the same 2000m. Last year she was campaigned in Europe over the summer, but this year she stayed in Dubai. She and Fresu break from the outside barrier of nine starters.
“We have done things a bit differently this season,” Charpy explained. “She did not go to Europe and staying here means she is a bit further ahead in her schedule so this race was the plan to set her up for the carnival.”
Trained by Watson when chasing home Charpy’s mare, Second Summer (Fernando Jara, post one) was then well-beaten in Al Maktoum Challenge R3 (G1) before winning the 2017 Godolphin Mile (G2). In The Entisar of 2017, he was a disappointing eighth, which was the first of his four outings during a season that culminated with an unsuccessful attempt to defend his aforementioned crown on Dubai World Cup day. A 6-year-old gelded son of Summer Bird, he will be having his first start since joining trainer Ali Rashid Al Rayhi, so is thus now trained over the Meydan dirt.
Since its inaugural running in 2013, no horse has won The Entisar twice, but Watson will be hoping to remedy that with Etijaah, who will be again ridden by O’Neill (post three) for His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Five times a course and distance winner, including the 2017 Curlin Handicap (Listed), he was an excellent second behind stable companion Cosmo Charlie in a 1600m conditions race on his seasonal debut four weeks ago.
For Cosmo Charlie (Dobbs, post five), that was a second outing of the campaign, having had a run at Jebel Ali a month earlier. Fourth in the Dubai Creek Mile on this card last year, he was disappointing on his only previous attempt at 2000m in last season’s Al Maktoum Challenge R3 (G1). On the other hand, as a 3-year-old, he proved he can handle a similar trip when taking the 1900m Al Bastakiya (Listed) on Super Saturday 2017.
Watson said: “Both are training really well and have come out of that race in great form. We are trying Cosmo Charlie over 2000m to see if he stays, because we know he is good over 1600m. He did win the Al Bastakiya, so we are hopeful. Etijaah ran a big race over 1600m, but this 2000m really suits him and he loves it at Meydan on the dirt. He is one horse who seems to enjoy the kickback!”
Also doubly represented is Jadhav, with Ffrench choosing to partner the up-and-coming Syphax(post seven) and Xavier Ziani aboard Listed winner Montsarrat (post two), a 2200m Meydan winner in January. Syphax is having just his third UAE outing and second of the campaign. He was fourth (Montsarrat eighth) behind Cosmo Charlie and Etijaah last time, but looked in need of that outing and seemed to handle the surface on his dirt debut.
“Syphax is a horse we really like and ran very well over 1600m,” Jadhav said. “This 2000m will suit him much better and if he can reproduce his form at home on the track, he is going to run a big race. Hopefully Montsarrat can break well from his good draw, in which case he can be ridden postively, which really suits him.”
Last season’s course and distance Curlin Handicap (Listed) was won easily by Saltarin Dubai, who defeated Etijaah by almost eight lengths that day. Trained by Satish Seemar for Sheikh Mohd bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, the 6-year-old E Dubai gelding will again have the assistance of Mullen (post six).
Assistant trainer Bhupat Seemar said: “It is his first run of the season, but he is ready for it and doing really well in training, so we are expecting a big run.”
Maher E. Lutfalla’s Fawzi Nass-trained Musawaat (de Vries, post eight), a 1600m specialist who stretches out in his first run since finishing fourth in the Godolphin Mile (G2), and Hamdan Sultan Ali Alsabousi’s lightly raced Bin Harmash trainee New Trails (Beasley, post four) round out the lineup.
The action begins with the only Purebred Arabian race on the card, the 1900m Madjani Stakes sponsored by Azizi Developments (Listed) with the maximum allowed field of 16 declared in what looks a quality renewal of a race first contested as recently as 2016. For Jean de Roualle and Yas Horse Racing Management, Mullen won the Al Maktoum Challenge R3 (G1 PA) in March aboard Ziyadd, who is penalised for that victory.
Prior to that, Mullen’s mount had chased home Al Zahir in February’s HH The President Cup (G1 PA) over 2200m on the turf at Abu Dhabi. Trained by Al Rayhi for Sheikh Hamdan, he too has a penalty and also landed the 2200m Emirates Championship (G1 PA) in March. However, his form on dirt is not on the same level, including finishing fourth in this race last year, but he was one place and three lengths in front of Ziyadd in the Kahayla Classic (G1 PA) on the Dubai World Cup card.
Among the unpenalised runners, Charpy saddles Cheik Roque for EERC (Emirates Entertainment Racing Club) and the 6-year-old looks to hold serious claims under Fresu having appeared to need his comeback outing at Abu Dhabi two weeks ago.
On behalf of EERC, Justin Byrne said: “He ran some very good races in defeat last season and has been training very well. We are getting weight this time from the big guns, so hopefully he will be thereabouts from a good draw.”
The final dress rehearsal meeting before the Dubai World Cup Carnival’s launch is also highlighed by a pair of handicaps with Carnival implications, as well as a pair of maiden conditions races, where possible stars of tomorrow could be opening their accounts. Sports Desk
