Dubai: The Dubai World Cup meeting picture became a lot clearer following Thursday’s Dubai World Cup Carnival meeting sponsored by Gulf News, with several of the night’s winners emerging as genuine contenders for the big prizes on offer at the March 25 extravaganza.
The three Group races on the night all produced impressive winners with the Ahmad Bin Harmash-trained Championship looking the most impressive of the lot, winning in course record time.
Winner of the 1,400m Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort, four weeks ago, the six-year-old son of Exceed And Excel pulled away from his rivals to comfortably land the $250,000 (Dh918,250) Zabeel Mile sponsored by Gulf News. For his third success in five starts this season.
Stable jockey, Colm O’Donoghue, was hugely impressed and said: “That was his best effort yet, especially under the penalty and Ahmad has done a wonderful job with him.
“He has trained him with these races in mind and tonight he was ultra-fit and very relaxed throughout the race.”
“He is a special horse who stays further but has the speed for shorter.
“I am not sure what the next target is but we will just enjoy this win and this horse has been great for me in my first season as stable jockey.”
Winner of the Listed National Day Cup at Abu Dhabi, also over 1,600m, Championship could be aimed at the $6 million Group 1 Dubai Turf on the World Cup card.
British bookmakers make him a 12/1 chance to give Bin Harmash the biggest win of his career.
“Obviously it will be nice to think that he is a Dubai Turf horse, but we’ll first have to see how he comes out of this race and then make proper plans,” said the Emirati.
“It’s a great feeling to know that you have a horse of that calibre and Championship has been improving all the time. We’ll see what happens, but yes, the Duty Free is an option.”
Last year Ertijaal was beaten just three-quarters of a length by Australian sprinter Buffering in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint, but Ali Rashid Al Raihe’s stable star will have the chance to avenge that loss after running out a consummate winner of the $170,000 Group 3 Meydan Sprint.
With British champion jockey Jim Crowley, wearing the famous colours of his main employer, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, Ertijaal set a new record for the course and distance.
“He is a like an aeroplane,” said Crowley. “He is a very good sprinter and with his remarkably long stride, you just do not realise how quick you are going on him.”
“The 1,200m of the Al Quoz Sprint should really suit him; I have ridden some good sprinters but he would be right up there among the best.”
French-trained Zarak was another comfortable winner of the closing Group 3 2,000m Dubawi Stakes under Christophe Soumillon.
Trained by Alain De Royer-Dupre, the four-year-old son of Dubawi was reported to not be fully fit by his handler who remains undecided about the horse’s future despite Thursday’s performance.
“To be fit for a Group 3 and to be fit for a Group 1 are not the same thing,” he said. “He didn’t blow after the race. He has a turn of foot, and he has learnt a lot here. It was good for him. We have many options, we will have to decide with the management, the owners and the jockey.”
