Dubai: Saeed Bin Surour, the most successful trainer in the history of the Dubai World Cup meeting, is hoping for ‘big’ runs from his two contenders, Very Special and Haafaguinea, in Saturday’s most anticipated race day.
Both Very Special, who runs in the $6million (Dh22 million) Dubai Turf (G1), and $1million Dubai Gold Cup (G1) contestant Haafaguinea, capped off fine individual seasons at the recently concluded Dubai World Cup Carnival and Bin Surour is eager that they continue their upward curve.
“There is no better time to deliver your best effort than at the Dubai World Cup meeting,” said the long-serving Godolphin handler, who has accumulated an unrivalled 33 wins at the event since 1996.
“It’s very exciting to have two very nice horses running on Saturday, but I don’t want to get carried away as races like these don’t come any more difficult at this level of the sport.
“To be honest, Very Special and Haafaguinea have done all that we have asked of them and all that I wish for is for both of them to run the best races of their lives,” he added. “The rest is up to the luck of the race. You need a lot of luck in these quality of races.”
Very Special is likely to face 12 rivals in the 1800 metre Dubai Turf, a race that Bin Surour has won five times in the past and most recently with Sahhaa in 2013.
Among them are Godolphin’s principal hope and the Charlie Appleby-trained Tryster, winner of the Group 1 Jebel Hatta, the official prep race for the Turf at Super Saturday earlier this month, Japanese 2000 Guineas (G1) and St. Leger (G1) runner-up Real Steel and the highly campaigned The Corsican, who is trained by David Simcock in the UK.
“The intensity in the Dubai Turf is very high,” explained Bin Surour. “It is arguably one of the best middle-distance turf races in Europe. “But I’m lucky to have a horse like Very Special who has earned her right to compete against the best with her wins in the Cape Verdi (G2) and Balanchine (G2). It’s not going to be easy, but she will have every chance on Saturday.”
Bin Surour sent out the first five winners of the Dubai Gold Cup between 2009-2013 and knows a great deal about what kind of horse it takes to win the gruelling 3,200m contest.
“The Dubai Gold Cup is a very tactical race and it takes a special stayer to be effective over the trip,” said the Emirati. “Haafaguinea is a solid long-distance horse who has been very consistent at Meydan where he has posted three wins.
“He may have been caught out on class when he ran in the Dubai City of Gold on Super Saturday, but he was far from overwhelmed. Mind you the horse that won [Postponed] is a Group 1 winner in the UK and one of the best stayers in Europe and the second horse [Dariyan] is also a proven stayer in France,” he added, “Haafaguinea ran his best race and with the two the finished in front of him in the City of Gold not in the line-up on Saturday, I would have to say that he has a decent chance, although there is Vazirabadm Big Orange and Manatee to cope with.
“Both horses came out their last races one hundred per cent fit and have been training very well. We couldn’t be happier heading into another Dubai World Cup meeting.”
