The Son of Oxbow Becomes the First Horse to Sweep All Major Sprint Races at Meydan
DUBAI, Emiratos Arabes Unidos (Special for Turf Diario).- The presence of Japanese challenger American Stage made the G3 Mahab Al Shimaal (sponsored by Emirates.com) look a little tougher for Tuz than his three previous races this season, but no matter – he trounced them anyway.
Seemar’s sprinting star also made history, becoming the first horse to sweep the Listed Garhoud Sprint, G3 Dubawi Stakes, G3 Al Shindagha Sprint and this race all in one season.
He did it in his usual style, contributing to blistering fractions up front, especially when taken on by Al Shibli, but was still much too good, bolting up by five lengths from American Stage, with Eastern World, winner of this race in 2022, in third.
“He’s a streetfighter, he just keeps coming back – he’s like Muhammad Ali!” said Seemar. “He’s made history by becoming the first horse to win all the big dirt sprints.
“There will be some good sprinters here for the Dubai Golden Shaheen, but we have home turf.”
Appleby en día redondo
The overwhelming favorite of the day, Mountain Breeze (Lope de Vega), did not disappoint in the Jumeirah 1000 Guineas (L, 1600m, turf) (sponsored by Emirates Skywards), scoring in authoritative fashion to hand another victory to trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick.
The chestnut filly displayed her class, taking over in the stretch from the valiant front-runner Octans (The Grey Gatsby) and cruising to a near four-length victory.
“We expected something like this,” said Buick. “She had only run once over a mile before, and things didn’t go her way, so that was the only question mark. The key was for her to win without being pushed too hard. Hopefully, this sets her up for a strong European campaign.”
The successful Appleby-Buick partnership struck again shortly after with Ruling Court (Justify), who justified his favoritism in the Jumeirah 2000 Guineas (L, 1600m, turf) (sponsored by Emirates Holidays).
A maiden winner at Sandown, England, the colt had not raced since finishing third in the Acomb Stakes (G3) at York in August. However, the layoff proved no issue, as Buick patiently waited at the back before unleashing a powerful stretch run to win by six lengths over The Fingal Raven (Mehmas) and Norwegian contender War Socks (Kameko).
“In a way, I was glad he lost at York,” admitted Appleby. “That allowed us to take our time with him. I’m fortunate to have the luxury of letting them develop at their own pace.”
Looking ahead, Godolphin’s trainer has high aspirations for Ruling Court. “We believe he’s a horse for 2000 meters, so we’ll see whether we take him to the Dante Stakes or follow the Guineas route.”
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