Dubai: Racing at Meydan’s seven-race card on Thursday is sponsored by pillar partner Longines and is highlighted by three interesting thoroughbred contests with Dubai World Cup Carnival implications and the season’s first Group 2 contest in the form of the Bani Yas for Purebred Arabians.
Presented by Longines Hydroconquest, the 1400-metre event, will feature a full field of 16 runners.
Future thoroughbred stars will be on display in the third juvenile maiden race of the season, also over 1400 metres, the Longines Conquest V H P.
The feature of the evening is the 1600-metre Longines Master Collection handicap worth approximately Dh240,000.
The race has drawn a competitive field of 13 and is topped in the weights by Thegreatcollection (pictured above), one of two in the race for Doug Watson whose stable jockey, Pat Dobbs, elects to ride new arrival Canvassed. While the former has needed the run the last two years to kick off his seasons, he does ride a two-race win streak, including an impressive closing day (April 12) victory over a two of these, Rodaini (third) and Bochart (fifth).
Owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, whose Postponed won the Group 1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic in 2017, Canvassed has raced three times, winning the first two on all-weather surfaces in highly impressive fashion for Roger Varian before being well held in a Listed Royal Ascot trial. Easily the class of the field if the race were held on turf, the son of Shamardal will try the dirt for the first time.
“He is a really nice horse, undoubtedly,” Watson said. “Obviously the dirt is the question and whether he handles it in a race, but his work is very good and we have to be hopeful. We got him in August and started from scratch with him. He has a really nice cruising speed when he canters every day. He just doesn’t get tired. It’s a first step and we’ll see where we stand after this.”
