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12 uAE NEWS monday 11 march 2013 ANZ
Super Saturday certainly lived up to its billing, especially for
Godolphin and trainer Saeed bin Suroor who combined to
win four of the seven races, including both the Group one
features. These were landmark victories for the Godolphin
team with Hunter’s Light (Dubawi) providing Godolphin trainers
with their 200th Group One/Grade One winner in the Al Maktoum
Challenge Round 3 (Gr 1), over the same 2000m all-weather course
and distance as the Dubai World Cup.
The world’s richest horse race, the US$10million Dubai World Cup,
is sponsored by Emirates Airline as was the whole of Super Saturday
and Bin Suroor will be hoping that Hunter’s Light can emulate three
of his previous winners of this race, Dubai Millennium (Seeking The
Gold), Street Cry (Machiavellian) and Electrocutionist (Red Ransom)
who all won both contests.
Silvestre De Sousa rode the winner and said: “He just keeps
improving and after our win in Round 2 of the Al Maktoum Challenge
he was even more impressive here with the slight step up in trip
suiting him.
“This is my first Group One winner in Dubai and the same horse
supplied me with my first European Group One so he is clearly a real
favourite of mine. Hopefully he has a big chance in the Dubai World
Cup itself.”
The trainer’s quartet were all ridden by different jockeys and
William Buick was in the saddle on Sajjhaa (King’s Best) who opened
her account at the highest level in the concluding Jebel Hatta (Gr 1).
This race was run over the same 1800m course and distance as the
Dubai Duty Free.
Sajjhaa, now a six-year-old mare, was actually winning for a third
time at the 2013 Dubai World Cup Carnival after claiming the Cape
Verdi (Gr 2, 1600m) and the Balanchine Stakes (Gr 2, 1800m) and Bin
Suroor said: “She has really thrived in the Dubai weather and has
pleasantly surprised us with how much she has improved. William
had to be patient waiting for a gap and he gave her a great ride.”
Earlier, the trainer saddled African Story (Pivotal) to win the Burj
Nahaar (Gr 3, 1600m) for the second year running. Mickael Barzalona
rode him on this occasion to a comfortable success and the horse will
surely be hard to beat as he defends his crown in the Godolphin Mile
(Gr 2), over the same 1600m on the all-weather, in three weeks.
Kieren Fallon was aboard Secret Number (Raven’s Pass) who
initiated the quartet in the Al Bastakiya (Listed, 1900m) the stepping
stone towards the UAE Derby (Gr 2, 1800m).
Both the sprints on the card were won impressively with the
Mike De Kock-trained Shea Shea (National Emblem) breaking the
1000m turf track record in the Meydan Sprint (Listed), before Richard
Mullen won the Mahab al Shimaal (Gr 2) aboard Reynaldothewizard
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Hunter’s Light Lands Official Dubai World Cup prep
(Speightstown). The pair kicked clear 200m out in the 1200m allweather
contest to post a career best effort.
The other turf race, the Dubai City Of Gold (Gr 2, 2410m), was won
by the Marco Botti-trained and Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock
(ATB)-owned Jakkalberry (Storming Home), who ran third in last
year’s Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m).
Darren Dance of ATB said Jakkalberry would now head to the
Dubai Gold Cup (Gr 3, 3200m) on World Cup night.
“He’s one of those old marvels that just continues to get better
with age,” Dance told Racing Victoria.
“We were hopeful of a win and obviously when Masterstroke got
scratched at the gates it was a massive favour, but Marco was very
confident that we’d run first or second.
“The biggest cause for concern was whether there was going to
be enough speed to cart him into it and once the speed went on midrace
it set it up for him to really run on at the finish.”
Dance said Jakkalberry would be set for another Melbourne Cup
campaign where he could be joined by another of the syndication
company’s European purchases, Dandino (Dansili), who is also in
training in Newmarket with Botti.
“Dandino will race at Royal Ascot before coming out to race in
both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups,” Dance said.
“He’s a similar sort of horse to Jakkalberry with a very good turn
of foot.”
RELATED LINKS
Race Replays
Jakkalberry DUBAI RACING CLUB/ANDREW WATKINS
EDITORIAL editor@anzbloodstocknews.com