Rich Tapestry
A smart sprinter from Hong Kong, Rich Tapestry served up a bit of a surprise when he came with a power-packed finish to catch Reynaldothewizard and win by just over a length in the Mahab Al Shimaal on Super Saturday. It was Rich Tapestry’s first start in Dubai and it was his first run over a Tapeta course, a surface he clearly liked. He may have been favoured by the pace but it was still a solid performance that augured well for his crack at the Golden Shaheen, staged over the same distance, 1,200 metres, as the Mahab Al Shimaal.
The questions worth pondering over are: was Rich Tapestry greatly improved in his first run on an artificial course, or was Reynaldothewizard still below his best?
Most likely, the answer is a combination of both factors. Reynaldothewizard was better in this race than on his seasonal debut but not at his peak yet, while Rich Tapestry obviously did move forward as a result of the surface switch. He was a Listed stakes winner in Hong Kong, but he was also hammered by almost seven lengths when unplaced behind Lord Kanaloa in the Hong Kong Sprint last December.
Then again, Lord Kanaloa is the world’s best turf sprinter, and one of the world’s best racehorses overall, so perhaps even that form makes Rich Tapestry entitled to winning form in the current sprint division at Meydan.
Reynaldothewizard
Having won the Golden Shaheen last year, Reynaldothewizard was rather disappointing on his first start this season in the Dubawi Stakes at the Dubai World Cup Carnival, not least since his trainer Satish Seemar had told the media that he felt his top sprinter was even better this year.
But sometimes the first run of the year is below par for a horse, often a race to forget, and we all know that Reynaldothewizard is far better than his seventh of nine behind United Color in January would suggest. He was not sharp enough from the gates, and never really got into the race. He may well have lost interest too, as he suffered from a troubled run in mid-pack. He was so much more powerful in the 2013 edition of the race, when he was up with the pace all the way, surged to the lead 500 metres from the line, and kept strongly to win by a quarter of a length from the late charging Balmont Mast. Krypton Factor, who won the Golden Shaheen two years ago, was third.
Such form makes Reynaldothewizard the best sprinter based in Dubai, and he came back to form with a game second to Rich Tapestry on Super Saturday. Another step forward, which seems likely, would give Reynaldo back-to-back wins in the Golden Shaheen.
Russian Soul
Russian Soul, a Group 3 winner on turf in Ireland last autumn, has improved when racing on Tapeta at Meydan this winter.
He was second to United Color in January (when Reynaldothewizard was unplaced), and took another step up the ladder when winning the Al Shindagha Sprint in February. Both races were run over the same distance as the Golden Shaheen. Russian Soul, winning for a sixth time, took the Al Shindagha by a length, at the expense of Jamesie, with Complicate third, Bello fourth and Balmont Mast fifth. Jamesie had won a good sprint handicap on his preceding start, while Complicate and Belle were both stakes-winning sprinters in Australia last year, so beating these rivals readily was no mean feat. A repeat of such form would give Russian Soul a chance in the big sprint. His sixth on Super Saturday, 4½ lengths behind Rich Tapestry, is best described as a bit of a blip, and it would be unwise to read too much into that piece of form.
A runner with speed and stamina, Russian Soul has won from 1,000 to 1,600 metres, but he looks more and more a natural sprinter these days — and one that could still find further improvement.
