Variety Club
Variety Club, twice Horse of The Year in South Africa, is one of the favourites. He was beaten by Shuruq on Super Saturday but may have needed the run that day, when he was also part of a crazy early pace that took its toll at the finish. The son of Var made a perfect seasonal debut at Meydan last month, when he justified favouritism in the Firebreak Stakes.
As always ridden by Anton Marcus, Variety Club went straight to the lead and bossed his opponents all the way to the winning post, which he passed easily two lengths in front of Haatheq, a solid stakes miler with nine wins to his name. Variety Club, who took four Group One races in South Africa in 2012 and 2013, also raced over 1,600 metres when beating Beach Beauty by a length in last year’s Rising Sun Gold Challenge at Clairwood and when outclassing Jackson in the Queen’s Plate at Kenilworth.
Shuruq
Godolphin always plays a strong hand in this event, and their in-form filly Shuruq, who impressed on Super Saturday, can become the first female horse to win the Godolphin Mile. Saeed Bin Suroor won with the filly Tereshkova in 1996, when the race was called the Nad Al Sheba Mile and carried Listed status, but the boys have dominated since. Shuruq, a real Tapeta specialist, came with a power-packed finish from off the pace in the Burj Nahaar on Super Saturday, to upset the day’s biggest favourite, Variety Club, for a clear-cut win. The early pace had been strong, probably too strong, and Variety Club was part of it and may be excused for getting tired close home, but a similar scenario could easily develop also on World Cup night, and throw the race into Shuruq’s lap once more. Her most recent performance was her best to date, even better than her wins in the UAE Oaks last year and the Al Maktoum Challenge Round I this winter, and she has a big chance.
Soft Falling Rain
Last year’s winner of the Godolphin Mile, Soft Falling Rain, disappointed when making his seasonal debut in the Mahab Al Shimaal on Super Saturday, but he remains the one to beat in this valuable mile contest, a race he took from an almost impossible position twelve months ago. Sprinting probably wasn’t to his liking in the Al Shimaal, though taking in that race en route to the Godolphin Mile may have been a perfect prep. If back to his best, he could well be the winner again.
Soft Falling Rain, who won the UAE 2,000 Guineas with ease before last year’s World Cup night, had a wide draw in the Godolphin Mile, a race where starting from the middle to inside berths normally means an advantage. He overcame this in the style of a top-class thoroughbred and won by three parts of a length from Haatheq. The South African-bred star was sent to England after this, and he produced another top-notch performance at Newmarket in the autumn, winning the Joel Stakes very impressively.
Soft Falling Rain became a leading contender for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions day at Ascot three weeks later, but heavy ground put paid to his chances in that race. Those who saw him that day did not get a true picture of his class.
