Dividend and a victory with a British accent in the Lord Glitters Handicap

At Meydan, the son of Kodiac was the great figure of Friday; Oisin Murphy and his first photo there since 2020

Dividend was the central figure in the Meydan night / DRC

MEYDAN, United Arab Emirates.- The main race on Friday at Meydan featured Dividend, who claimed the Lord Glitters Handicap. With Rossa Ryan in the irons, he charged from the middle of the pack with a perfectly timed change of pace to defeat King’s Charter (Kingman) by 3/4 of a length.

“Absolutely superb!” summarized co-trainer Dr. Richard Newland, who celebrated his first overseas success alongside partner Jamie Insole. Ryan, also winning for the first time at Meydan, highlighted the horse's explosiveness: “On a track with tight turns like this, his turn of foot is decisive.”

British trainer Ed Walker is making the Carnival look like an easy task. He achieved his third victory in 4 attempts with Northern Champion (Wootton Bassett), who maintained his undefeated record at Meydan (2-for-2) by winning the Dubai Trophy.

Notably, this marked the return to the winner's enclosure for Oisin Murphy, 5-time British Champion, who hadn't won at Meydan since 2020. “It was a great decision by Ed to drop him to 1200 meters. halfway through the race, I let him run and he passed rivals with ease,” commented Murphy.

Brazilian jockey Bernardo Pinheiro was another who had an inspired night with two victories: First, he guided Tailgunner Joe (Knicks Go) in the Azizi Venice Handicap (1600 m, turf). Dylan Cunha's pupil slipped through the rails to win by a neck over Jolly Roger (Dark Angel). Cunha praised the bravery of the only 3-year-old in the field.

Later, he completed his harvest with Desperate Hero (Captain Gerrard) at the end of the night, crossing the wire first in the Azizi Riviera Handicap (1200 m, turf). Pinheiro changed tactics with the grey trained by Salem bin Ghadayer. Instead of leading, he brought him from behind to win authoritatively by two and a half lengths.

Veteran and popular jockey Pat Dobbs celebrated his birthday in the best way: visiting the winner's enclosure twice, both times teaming up with trainer Doug Watson.

Cats By Five gave him the most prominent win in the Burj Azizi Handicap (1200 m, dirt), where the son of Audible won by 5 lengths. Watson is already aiming high with the sprinter: “We’ll see what he can do against the big boys in the Mahab Al Shimaal on Super Saturday, looking for a spot on World Cup night.”

Nyaar (Munnings) previously opened Dobbs' double in the Azizi Creek Views Handicap (1400 m, dirt), showing his toughness to withstand pressure down the stretch.

Mention must also be made of the victory by Watch Collector (Medaglia D’Oro), trained by Bhupat Seemar, who finally "put his mind to work" after being gelded and won by 1 1/3 lengths with Richie Mullen riding.

The day opened with a crushing victory by Uptown Walk The Line (Burning Sand), who won by 10 lengths from gate to wire under Sandro Paiva, shaping up to move up in category after such an exhibition.