12:30 CITYSCAPE -gallops in the Duty Free, white faced fellow looks like daddy Selkirk; owned/bred by Juddmonte, now 6 for 17, comes off 2nd in Hong Kong Mile in Dec. – CITY STYLE solid 3rd….
11:56: Canada’s GLOBE & MAIL newspaper online runs picture of Fox Hunt and his broken leg from the Gold Cup earlier on the card
11:46 – KRYTPON FACTOR beats the Rocket!!!! 4yo gelding from Dubai runs down the Rocket in late stretch and wins going away under Kieran Fallon for Fawzi Nass
11:01 – ORTENSIA storms down far side of course to win 5 fur. Al Quoz Sprint, 7-year-old mare now 11 for 30 – Aussie bred by Testa Rossa – 9yo JOY AND FUN 3rd for Hong Kong
10:29 – Daddy Long Legs stalked slow pace in 2nd, wins UAE DERBY, lots of Daddy’s around for the Kentucky Derby! By Scat Daddy out of Dreamy Maiden – 3yo colt was very sweaty before the race – note he was 12th, blown out in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
10:29: Canada probably a better idea for MARITIMER… good start, bit rank, stalked in 3rd under hard hold – 26 1/5 first 2 furlongs, faded through the stretch, beat 2
10: 28 -Wrote now favoured UAE Derby, Maritimer 12 to 1
10:18 a.m. – Lucky Chappy favoured for UAE Derby, for Team Valor
10:03 am – MARITIMER 14 to 1 for UAE DERBY, crowd still sounds like subdued buzzing after breakdown
Fox Hunt, photo from godolphin.com
9:46 – Tragedy – FOX HUNT falls in Gold Cup, Godolphin horse, one of the faves, jockey Sylvester De Sousa.
Horse reportedly not going to make it – he won 7 of 19 races and $528,000
race called mid-race, called NO CONTEST halfway through, according to Frankie Dettori the accident was at a spot on the corner where it would have been unavoidable to hit the “dead horse” – nice Frankie
Jockey De Sousa okay, FOX HUNT (Dubawi) reportedly put down
9:10 a.m. – AFRICAN STORY ($3.20 to win) romps, beauty trip, rail stalk, outclassed the field. A 5yo gelding by Pivotal – Blixen (Gone West). Godolphin wins Godolphin Mile. Vinery’s WESTERN ARISTOCRAT pulled up early
A HANDICAPPING SATURDAY….Happy Mar 31, a fun-filled day of racing, enjoy!
Zazou gets new owner right before World Cup
Vanessa Ng photo
CHECHEN president Ramzan Kadyrov, whose Gitano Hernando was a late withdrawal from Saturday’s Dubai World Cup because of injury, will have a runner in the world’s richest race after all.
Kadyrov has purchased Zazou from owner Werner Heinz and the five-year-old German-trained globetrotter will carry his colours at Meydan, although the race card has been printed too early to carry the change of registration. Zazou is 11-1 fifth favourite with Coral – from Racing post
DUBAI PICKS/NOTES
GODOLPHIN MILE
Canadians will be interested in DO IT ALL, a Godolphin 5yo horse bred by Jim and Alice Sapara of Alberta. The Distorted Humor fellow was bred in Kentucky and is out of Stupendous Miss. He was sold by the Sapara’s for a whopping $900,000 as a yearling 4 years ago to Godolphin.
The mare was a Grade 3 winner.
Do It All shocked the crowd when he suddenly reversed form and won his latest, the Group 2 Zabeel Mile, leading all the way through 27 1/5 for the first 2 furlongs.
He has won $271,267.
The pick for the Mile will be AFRICAN STORY, he’s been consistently good at 1 mile and won his prep easily with a rail, stalking trip over Snaafy.
Frankie Dettori has done on record saying that this is his best chance of the night.
1- African Story #4
2 – Sandagiyr #3
3 – Do It All #12
DUBAI GOLD CUP 2 MILES
Remember JOSHUA TREE? He won the Canadian International 2 years at and was 2nd in it last year. Not a bad guy, he’s a 5yo now and looking to combat the tough pair from owner RAMZAN KADRYOV – Bronze Cannon and Mikhail Glinka, each of whom beat this guy in recent races.
Kind of sad to see 8yo UNUSUAL SUSPECT, an earner of $1.2 million, coming into this race off 14th and 9th place ifnishes. He was beaten 23 lengths by Mikhail Glnka last time in the Grade 2 City of Gold at 1 1/2 miles.
Godolphin looking good again here with OPINION POLL and FOX HUNT, may be tough to beat that pair but..
1 – Zanzamar #12
2- Fox Hunt #11
3 Opinion Poll # 10
UAE DERBY
Well, what Ontario racing fan is not looking forward to seeing how MARITIMER will do? Bred by Toronto’s Howard Walton, the Coronation Futurity winner, Display winner, who was bought by Ramzan Kadryov for about $1.6-$1.7 million in the winter.
The colt, by Stormy Atlantic, will be ridden by Glyn Schofield.
Note that he is a Norther American-bred 3yo racing against some older horses.
not sure what to make of the filly BALADA SALE, but the Argentine gal won her latest in November by 11 lengths after setting a furious pace at 1 1/4 miles. She has won 5 straight.
LUCKY CHAPPY is a little grey guy, just got beat to Daddy Knows Best at Golden Gate and that rival came back to win Sunland Derby.
WROTE won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf but has never tried synthetic dirt.
YANG TSE KIANG just won an all weather prep at Chantilly over 3 rivals.
head scratcher:
1 – YANG TSE KIANG #8
2 – BALADA SALE #4
3 – WROTE #13
AL QUOZ SPRINT
5 furlong turf dash, 16 horses – good luck! Would simply look for a price horse with a good record at the distance ..
1 Eagle Regiment #11
2 Nocturnal Affair #5
3 Joy and Fun # 6
GOLDEN SHAHEEN
How can you not love ROCKET MAN, he’s looking even better than he did last year when he won this race – 7yo has 19 wins in 25 starts. He’s a monster, plain and simply.
THE FACTOR – good at 7 furlongs, but not sure 6 will be his thing.
1. Rocket Man (Aus) #1
2 Krypton Factor #5
3 Hitchens #6
DUBAI DUTY FREE
1 1/8 MILES on the turf, and Canadians can note the Kentucky bred CITY STYLE, who is out of Canadianm bred mare BRATTOTHECORE, who was bred by Bill Stewart’s Black Canyon Thoroughbreds. Brattothecore won the Bison City Stakes and she is by Katahalua County.
City Style is super good, winner of 3 of his last 5 but this year’s field is loaded. AMBITIOUS DRAGON breathes fire, he’s won 2 group 1’s this year already. DARK SHADOW, from a Private Account mare, is also very good.
1- Ambitious Dragon #4
2 Dark Shadow #6
3 Green Destiny #1
SHEEMA CLASSIC
Likeing the way trainer Mike de Kock is talking up the mare MAHBOOBA – she did not do great at Woodbine for the ‘Taylor last year but that grass was a bog. The Breeders’ Cup Turf winner St Nicholas Abbey is in here and woman trainer Cirone Barande Barbe could become first to win a Dubai race with CIRRUS DES AIGLES.
1 – cirrus des aigles #8
2 – St Nicholas Abbey #9
3 – Mahbooba #4
DUBAI WORLD CUP
Many eyes will be on GAME ON DUDE, by Canadian bred Awesome Again, ridden by Canadian Chantal Sutherland, trained by Bob Baffert, who was in hospital most of the week. Tough test for him, though – and at 3 to 1?? No thanks.
CAPPONI is a fast improving guy for Godolphin, SMART FALCON is a 23-time winner in 33 races, mostly on wet tracks in Japan, ZAZOU was just bought by Ramzan Kadryov 2 days ago, he won an all weather race on Mar 3 at Chantilly and the mare ROYAL DELTA, well, she was just a bit icky in her season debut at Gulfstream.
1 – Capponi
2 – Zazou
3 – So You Think
