$1,000,000 Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup (Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors)
Tom Peacock
DUBAI: Simon and Ed Crisford’s smart mare Fairy Glen maintained her stellar start to 2026 by landing a dramatic G2 Dubai Gold Cup, sponsored by Al Tayer Motors.
For much of the 3200m it looked as if Silvestre De Sousa might have delivered a masterstroke on Sunway, establishing a lead of around 25 lengths from an initially dawdling pace until a combination of loneliness and tiredness became obvious turning for home.
Caballo De Mar, who had sat second, made the first bid for home but Mickael Barzalona angled Fairy Glen up the inside and she passed the line half a length in front of that rival for her biggest victory to date.
The daughter of Farhh, bred by Godolphin and owned by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, had been among the Crisford stable’s contingent in Dubai this year and arrived off a victory in the G2 Balanchine over just 1800m last time.
Ed Crisford said: “It’s fantastic. We ran her in the Balanchine here, which was a bit short for her but since that race she’s really blossomed, done really well. She got invited to this race, she’s never run over two miles before, we were a little bit sceptical about if she’d stay the extra two furlongs – she’s won over a mile and six back in England – but I thought Mickael rode her really well, a sensible race and she finished very well.
“She goes on this sort of ground, she’s run at Bath in heavy ground in the UK so she’s well used to these conditions. I’m really pleased for His Highness Sheikh Hamdan to have a winner on the night.”
Simon Crisford added: “I think we were stretching our luck going up to two miles but the way the race set up, it worked really well for the closers. She’s got a nice turn of foot, and she showed it tonight. She’s very honest, very brave, a good filly.
“She’s a dual Group 2 winner and she’ll probably go back and run next in the Middleton (a Group 2 over 2100m at York).
Barzalona said: “We tried to relax as quick as we could but actually they went a nice gallop and she was pretty happy. When they pressed the pace mid-bend I thought I had plenty in hand, I didn’t know for how long so I waited a bit and when I asked her to pick up she picked up nicely.”
Of the runner-up, trainer George Scott said: “He got a great ride and just got beat by a filly who is in great form. He’s a horse that stays so well, he’s a [Ascot] Gold Cup horse, and we’ll probably go to the Sagaro or something like that. Everything will be about the Gold Cup and we’ll work back from that. But he’s run a great race and he’s proven himself at this level.
“He’s a very, very decent staying horse. She [Fairy Glen] came at him quite quick and if he’d managed to get her in a fight, it might have been different.”
Result
1st – #10 FAIRY GLEN (FR)
Jockey: Mickael Barzalona
Trainer: Simon & Ed Crisford
2nd – #4 Caballo De Mar (IRE) – 0.51L
3rd – #2 Al Nayyir (GB) – 3.86L
4th – #5 Sons And Lovers (GB) – 4.62L
5th – #7 Epic Poet (IRE) – 4.87L
6th – #1 Al Riffa (FR) – 5.13L
7th – #8 Burdett Road (GB) – 11.77L
8th – #3 Dubai Future (GB) – 15.63L
9th – #9 Ruling Dynasty (GB) – 19.62L
10th – #6 Sunway (FR) – 40.32L
