Dubai: The Dubai World Cup (G1) picture appears to have become clearer for trainer Saeed Bin Surour following Thursday night’s second round of the Al Maktoum Challenge, one of the key preps for the March 29 showpiece.
The Emirati handler, whose runners appear to be in rude health at the moment, saddled the first two home in the race with Prince Bishop and African Story, while his third contender, Hunter’s Light, was a noteworthy fourth.
Bin Surour has won the Dubai World Cup five times, but not since Electrocutionist triumphed over Wilco (disqualified) and Brass Hat in 2006. Consequently, Thursday’s result will have gone a long way to boosting his hopes of zeroing in on the right horse, or horses, who can set the record straight for him.
African Story, who could well be his leading candidate, ran a huge race in what was only his first start in more than 10 months. Although he failed to close the gap on Prince Bishop, who set a new track record for 1,900m (AW) at Meydan, he will undoubtedly have needed the run and will strip fitter for his next assignment in round three of the Al Maktoum Challenge.
Hunter’s Light may have finished in arrears to his stable companions, but he too must surely be given time and another chance to demonstrate his true form.
Bin Surour himself was pleased with all three of his runners but paid a special tribute to the seven-year-old Prince Bishop, a veteran of many high-profile battles at Meydan in the past.
“This horse just loves it here at Meydan,” said the Godolphin trainer, who notched a 10th success in the race. “He’s in better shape than he was last year and has shown how competitive he is.
“Kieren [Fallon] gave him a great ride and the tactics of stealing the lead worked right for the horse as he has a lot of heart and can stay up to a mile and a half.
“We’ll probably bring him back for the third round, together with African Story and Hunter’s Light, who will have needed this race.”
Prince Bishop contested the Dubai Sheema Classic last March and has previously run in successive Dubai World Cups. Bin Surour, however, hinted that he might take his chances in the latter event.
“He can go on both the Tapeta and the turf, and it’s still too early to make a final plan,” said the handler. “But we’ll see what His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai decide on. But he’s a very versatile horse and can go anywhere.”
Meanwhile, Fallon had a word of praise for a horse on which he has now set two track records, the previous one coming when he defeated stablemate and subsequent Melbourne Cup (G1) contender Royal Empire by a head over 2,400m on the all-weather at Kempton, England in September.
“He’s in great form, he felt good and he galloped out strong,” said the former six-time British champion. “There’s a lot more to come from this horse.”
Elsewhere, David Marnane’s He’s No Saint ran a big race in the Meydan Classic Trial to storm into the UAE Derby (G2) picture.
Marnane’s website said there are plenty of options for the three-year-old colt including the $125,000 Meydan Classic or the $250,000 Al Bastakiya on Super Saturday (March 8), the traditional local prep for the $2 million UAE Derby.
