Dubai: When the winning horse crosses the finish line in Saturday’s Dubai Sheema Classic, a $5 million (Dh18.36 million) Group 1 contest, there is every likelihood that another piece of history will have been written.
In 16 runnings of this joint-richest turf race, 15 different trainers have saddled winners with only one — Saeed Bin Surour — winning it twice.
Gentildonna, bidding to become only the second Japanese horse to win the Sheema Classic, is ranked as one of the top fillies in the world.
The four-year-old daughter of Deep Impact faces 11 rivals including dual Coronation Cup (G1) scorer St Nicholas Abbey and Shareta, the winner of last year’s Yorkshire Oaks (G1) and the Prix Vermeille (G1) at Longchamp.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained St Nicholas Abbey lost by a neck to Cirrus Des Aigles last year but runs into what the Japanese connections term as a champion filly in Gentildonna.
“The Japan Cup and Oaks are run over 2,400m, which were her best races. The Sheema Classic is run over the same distance and over a left-handed track, which are ideal conditions for her,” trainer Sei Ishizaka said.
“It has been four months since her last start, but she is maintaining the same good form as she won the Japan Cup,” he said.
St Nicholas Abbey had his final workout yesterday and jockey Joseph O’Brien said: “He was lovely this morning. He seems in good form. It’s his first run back since November but he ran very well in this race last year, so his chance is there for all to see.”
The only other mare Shareta is the mount of Christophe Lemaire and the French jockey feels the Aga Khan-owned five-year-old has a good chance.
“She’s got long, powerful strides and she comes across as very tough. I hope she can be in a good position when it is time for her to take off,” said Lemaire.
The Mikel Delzangles-trained Dunaden and the two Godolphin runners Prince Bishop and Sharestan are also part of the field.
David Redvers, who looks after the interests of owner Shaikh Fahad Al Thani, said: “Dunaden looks great. He seems to like that surface as well. Mikel (trainer) was saying maybe we should have run him in the Dubai World Cup after all. We did actually contemplate it for a while.”
For Godolphin’s Prince Bishop, it is a switch of surface as well as a drop in class. The six-year-old Dubawi gelding was 10th in the 2011 Dubai World Cup and seventh to Monterosso last year.
Prince Bishop will be running on turf for the first time since September, 2011 but he showed his class running third to this year’s Dubai World Cup favourite Hunter’s Light in the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round Three.
GN selections
1. Gentildonna
2. St Nicholas Abbey
3. Shareta
