Dubai: Legendary Irish handler Dermot Weld will be hoping to deride the view that there is strength in numbers when he saddles the progressive Mustajeeb in the Irish 2,000 Guineas (G1) at the Curragh on Saturday.
Weld takes on the might of Aidan O’Brien’s Classic generation with a horse who announced himself as a worthy contender for the big prizes with an authoritative victory in the Group 3 Amethyst Stakes at Leopardstown, Ireland, two weeks ago.
Weld was full of praise for the Shadwell homebred after he displayed an electrifying turn of foot to outclass rivals who were older to him.
“I thought he’d progressed well over the winter,” said the 21-time Irish champion handler. “He was a good two-year-old with a rating of 110. He seems very adaptable ground-wise and likes good to fast ground.”
Mustajeeb will also bid to supply owner Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, with a first success in the £174,000 (Dh 1,078,440) contest which has attracted a strong field of 14 runners including five trained by O’Brien.
A Shadwell homebred by quadruple Group 1 winner Nayef, Mustajeeb will be ridden by multiple Irish champion jockey Pat Smullen who is interestingly chasing a first success in the Irish colt’s Classic. He is the 6-1 second favourite behind Kingsman (8-11), who was narrowly beaten by Night Of Thunder in the English 2,000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket, earlier this month.
O’Brien singles out Group 1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes winner War Command, the mount of his son Joseph, as the pick of his quintent.
“War Command is our horse in Saturday’s race,” said the Ballydoyle-based trainer in the Irish Examiner. “We will also run Fountain Of Youth, Michaelmas and Great White Eagle, while Johann Strauss is also under consideration.
“All five are working very well.”
Richard Hannon hopes that the unforgiving Curragh track will suit Shifting Power, who was fourth in the Newmarket Classic.
“He ran very well in the English Guineas to finish fourth and was running on,” Hannon told At The Races. “I think the track will suit him at the Curragh. It doesn’t suit us too much that Kingman’s going, but there you go. “He has to go, we can go up to a mile and a quarter later on but I think he’s well worth his chance and if he finishes in the [first] three, we get our money back. I think the track will really suit him.”
