Week 7: Doug Watson trainee Muntazah romped to victory in G.3 Firebreak Stakes in a performance which drove the crowds mad. and a blowout performance by that arguably burned the brightest on the night that set alight Dubai World Cup hopes for the. The much talked about Godolphin owned Blue Point swooped in to capture the Gr.2 Meydan Sprint from 6YO gelding Faatinah. The latter will be contesting the Gr.1 Al Quoz Sprint on the Dubai World Cup undercard. A popular filly, Poetic Charm, coincidentally also owned by Godolphin won the Gr.2 1800m turf Balanchine with ease.
Week 6: The Gr.2 Maktoum Challenge R2 was won emphatically, by Ramzan Kadyrov’s Satish Seemar-trained North America under Richard Mullen. Godolphin’s Estihdaaf started slow but was soon roused by jockey Christophe Soumillon to take advantage of the number one stall. Once in front, the 3YO Arch colt traveled extremely well before shaking off heavy favourite Walking Thunder, who eventually finished 5½ lengths astern the victor.
Week 5: The Gr.3 Al Shindagha Sprint was won impressively by Drafted, a third consecutive win in the dirt dash for trainer Doug Watson and stable jockey Pat Dobbs. Also on the card was the first classic of the UAE season, the Listed UAE 1,000 Guineas, went to France with Silva running out the very easy, if not completely dominant winner for Pia Brandt. In doing so, she supplied Oisin Murphy, who has been in red-hot form in Japan, a first 2019 Carnival winner at the first attempt.
The US$100,000 Meydan Classic Trial was won stylishly by Golden Jaguar, an impressive winner over 1000m in a conditions race at Jebel Ali on his only previous outing and following up in the manner of a good horse for owner Phoenix Ladies Syndicate and trainer Ahmad bin Harmash.
Week 4: The highlight of the high-quality evening was the Gr.2 Al Fahidi Fort which was won by Godolphin-owned D’bai. Confidently ridden by James Doyle for Charlie Appleby, D’Bai made it look simple. The colt led home a 1-2-3 finish for the owner-trainer team with his 1¾-length stalk-and-pounce tally, with Mythical Magic finishing second under Colm O’Donoghue and Bravo Zolo in a dead-heat for third under Brett Doyle.
Godolphin was responsible for six of the nine runners in the co-feature of the evening, the Gr.2 Al Rashidiya. Saeed bin Suroor’s trio Dream Castle, Leshlaa and Racing History were chased home by Charlie Appleby’s Group 1 winner Blair Castle. And finally the inaugural $100,000 Al Bastakiya Trial over the same 1900m dirt C&D as the UAE Derby and went to Manguzi who, from his draw in stall three, was able to get to the front and dictate an optimal trip under Fernando Jara for trainer Ali Rashid Al Rayhi and owner Ahmad Al Shaikh.
Week 3: The third evening of the 2019 DWCC at Meydan was highlighted by the US$250,000 Cape Verdi, a 1600m turf feature restricted to fillies and mares, won in style by Poetic Charm. The winner was a seventh in the race for Godolphin, fourth in consecutive years and second for trainer Charlie Appleby, whose Certify won in 2017. The victory was also the second of an Appleby treble. Godolphin went on to claim four victories that evening, including a resounding victory by Swedish sprinter I Kirk.
Week 2: The second evening of the 2109 DWCC was highlighted by a quality renewal of the US$350,000 Gr.2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1, which serves as a prep for both the US$12m Gr.1 Dubai World Cup and US$1.5m Gr.2 Godolphin Mile. Under Richard Mullen, Ramzan Kadyrov owned-North America was absolutely dominant in a race that shaped up as one of the most compelling and competitive dirt miles Dubai has ever seen. The UAE 2000 Guineas Trial was turned into a procession by Walking Thunder, who is now unbeaten after three starts, all at Meydan on dirt. Trained by Ahmad bin Harmash for the Phoenix Ladies Syndicate, the 3-year-old son of Violence provided the owners a winner with they're first ever runner at the opening Meydan meeting of the season, at the beginning of November, over 1400m and followed up five weeks later over 1600m.
The inaugural US$100,000 Dubai Trophy (T), was won in determined fashion by Godolphin’s Good Fortune, a first 2019 carnival winner for both Charlie Appleby and James Doyle while the Gr. 1 Purebred Arabian affair as won by Wadeeaa, who absolutely flew out the stalls under Szczepan Mazur and proceeded to hold off all comers in an impressive gate-to-wire win.
Week 1: The opening night of the 2019 Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan featured the 1200m Dubawi Stakes and 1800m Singspiel Stakes—both Group 3 and worth US$200,000—with each providing thrilling stretch runs and popular victories. The Satish Seemar-Richard Mullen duo landed their fifth Gr.3 Dubawi Stakes with Raven’s Corner, who bested Doug Watson-trained favourite Drafted by 1¾ lengths. When Grade 1-winning favourite Deauville began to falter in the lane of the Gr. 3 Singspiel Stakes, Godolphin’s prospects closed-in and proceeded to sweet the first five spots in the $200,000 affair, led by the Saeed bin Suroor-trained duo of Dream Castle and Racing History.
Race Info:
Distance: 2,000 metres (about 10 furlongs), Surface: Dirt, Track: Left-handed, Qualification: Northern Hemisphere 4yo+ & Southern Hemisphere 3yo+,Weight: SH 3yo: 54.5kg.,NH & SH 4yo+: 57kg, Purse: US$12 million (2019 race)
Note: Excerpt curated from the press released by DRC