Dubai: The Satish Seemar-Richard Mullen bandwagon looks set to gather pace at Meydan’s third meeting sponsored by pillar partner Longines, with the closely cohesive pair holding several leading chances in the six-race card.
Tahaamah, Genius Step and Cross Grain have all posted wins on the track’s new dirt surface and make a much-anticipated return to action for the Zabeel Stables duo on a competitive and lucrative evening’s racing.
Ex-Godolphin trained Genius Step has won three of his five starts for Seemar, including his most recent at Meydan’s opening meeting of the season on November 6, and looks the one to beat in the Dh140,000 Longines Master Collection Handicap over 1,200 metres.
However, the son of Darley’s outstanding stallion Dubawi concedes weight to his eight rivals in a strong looking sprint that also features The Taj, who was only half a length behind Genius Step on that occasion and now enjoys a four-pound pull in weight.
Al Rashid Al Raihe’s three-time Meydan winner Ghaamer also has the credentials to test Genius Step’s sprinting prowess and Mullen said: “We always liked Genius Step and he has won three of his five starts for us. Hopefully he is still improving.”
Another Seemar winner from that opening Meydan meeting of the season is Cross Grain, a four-year-old son of Cape Cross who made a spectacular career debut when he defeated stable companion Year Of Glory by three lengths over seven furlongs.
He steps up to a mile on Thursday where he comes up against another impressive Meydan scorer in the form of the Doug Watson-trained State Law.
Other notable runners include Musabah Al Muhairi’s Colour Guard and the Dhruba Selvaratnam-trained Sowaylm, who was a promising runner-up to Seemar’s Satwa Story
in a handicap at Meydan’s last meeting, two weeks earlier.
The Longines Conquest Classic Gents conditions event over a mile, the richest race on the evening’s card with a purse of Dh160,000, sees the return of impressive last-outing winner Shaishee.
Dane O’Neill, who takes the ride aboard the Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance-owned American-bred colt, said: “This fellow was very progressive last season. Hopefully he is still improving as he won in a very impressive manner last time. This is a better race over a trip he has yet to win at but I don’t think that will be an issue. He deserves his chance in this better grade and we expect him to run a big race.”
Al Muhairi’s stable jockey Silvestre De Sousa rides stable companion, Modern History, an ex-Godolphin trainee, who has had seven unsuccessful outings at Meydan.
The meeting opens with the prep race for the Mazrat Al Ruwayah, the time Purebred Arabians will be exposed to the new Meydan dirt surface.
Calleteral and Richlore represent champion trainer Ernst Oertel, with champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea electing to ride the former leaving apprentice Daniel Muscutt with an exciting chance on last season’s Dubai Kahayla Classic contender.
Bigg N Rich, who won this contest 12 months ago, returns for trainer Eric Lemartinel while Watson sends out Quite A Show, who won the Group 2 Mazrat Al Ruwayah in December 2012.
Watson’s trainee is not short of class having also won the Group 1 Liwa Oasis on the Abu Dhabi turf in March 2012.
