Watson hopes to end Godolphin’s Al Rashidiya grip

There will be clues towards the G1 Dubai Turf on Dubai World Cup night on Friday when Meydan Racecourse stages the G2 Al Rashidiya (Presented by Azizi) – the highlight of the second evening of Carnival action.

The 1800metre turf contest has been dominated by Godolphin in recent years, with the home team responsible for the last six winners. Four of those, including surprise 2022 victor Desert Fire, were trained by Saeed Bin Suroor and he saddles two this time. The 114-rated Dubai Future comes here fresh from a career-best win in the G3 Bahrain Trophy in November when he beat the reopposing Passion And Glory by three-quarters of a length.

“Dubai Future came out of that race well and dropping down to nine furlongs should be fine,” said Bin Suroor, adding: “Passion And Glory was runner-up in Bahrain and he’s been working well, so I’m hopeful of another good run.”

Taking them on are two from the Charlie Appleby yard; Ottoman Fleet is the mount of William Buick, while James Doyle rides Valiant Prince, who is two from two at Meydan, including breaking the 1600metre track record.

“Ottoman Fleet ran well over this distance in the G3 Darley Stakes at Newmarket,” said Appleby. “He should be competitive.

“Valiant Prince has some solid form over a mile and we feel that this step up to nine furlongs will see further improvement at this stage of his career.”

Doug Watson is well aware of the blue challenge but has high hopes of San Donato, winner of the Listed National Day Cup at Abu Dhabi in December.

“We got him really late last year, I think he’d had an injury,” said the Red Stables handler. “He was very tricky training at the beginning and I didn’t know how he would breeze because he didn’t really want to go. Oscar Chavez has been riding out this year and he’s got him really sweet.

“I couldn’t believe the turn of foot he had at Abu Dhabi. He gives you hope you can compete with the Godolphin horses.”

Presvis, trained by Luca Cumani, was the last international winner of this race back in 2011 but three Europeans take their chance this time. They are Fastnet Rock, trained by Michael O’Callaghan, French raider Zagrey, trained by Yann Barberot and Freescape (pictured), trained in Ireland by David Marnane. The flashy chestnut is returning for his fifth Carnival.

“He’s settled really well back into his second home,” said Marnane. “It’s quite a strong race but we’re delighted with a good low draw as he seems to always run a nice race when he gets a low draw over here. He’s got two or possibly three more options at the Carnival, before returning to Newcastle for the All-Weather Finals meeting.”

Arguably the race of the night is the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Presented by Azizi), featuring a clash of eight three-year-old colts, all of whom have won.

Royal Dubai went into plenty of notebooks after his maiden success and trainer Bhupat Seemar has high hopes of both him and stable companion Morning, who won his maiden at the second attempt.

“They’re both very exciting horses, but very different looking horses,” he said. “Royal Dubai is a bit smaller but he was very impressive when he won. He’s got a beautiful stride on him, he just lengthens, and he’s a gorgeous-moving horse, so we’re very excited about him.

“Morning’s got tons of natural speed. The first time we ran him he stumbled out of the gate, but the next time Tadhg [O’Shea] had his mind made up. He gave him a great ride, put him right up there, and he won well.”

The home team face a trio of South American imports, two of whom are trained by Julio Olascoaga, who celebrated his first Carnival winner last week with Long Kiss.

“ES-Unico and Eye On The Prize will have their first runs in UAE,” he said. “We are expecting big runs from both of them. They have travelled well and seem to like the surface. Jose Da Silva will be again onboard ES-Unico, who he rides every day.”

The card has two new races and both the Thunder Snow Challenge (Presented by Azizi), over 2000metres on dirt, and the Ipi Tombe Stakes, for filles and mares over 1400metres on turf, have been well supported.

The former sees the return of South Korea, who send out two, King Of The Match and Haengbok Wangja, while the home team is buoyed by G2 winner Military Law, who makes his second start after returning from a break. 2021 G1 Maktoum Challenge R3 winner Salute The Soldier makes his seasonal debut and will be ridden as usual by Adrie de Vries for trainer Fawzi Nass.

“Salute The Soldier is fit and he’s had plenty of work,” said De Vries of the four-time course winner. “We have to wait and see if he still has the appetite on race day, but he’s showing us all the right signs in the mornings, so I expect a good run.”

Grade 1 winner stars in new Ipi Tombe Stakes

The Ipi Tombe Stakes has a field of nine, including 2021 Grade 1 Natalma Stakes winner Wild Beauty, who takes a notable drop in class here, having been last seen finishing fifth in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary at Longchamp in May.

Her rivals include Michael Costa’s New Zealand Group 3 winner Carolina Reaper, another making her local debut.

 “She’s settled in extremely well,” Costa said of the five-year-old daughter of Vespa. “There’s a nice programme for her. If she can bring her form from New Zealand and improve a little bit then she should be a good acquisition.”

The opening Azizi Mina Handicap, over 1600metres on dirt, is a competitive start to the evening. It features returning 2020 G3 UAE Oaks winner Down On Da Bayou, successful at Jebel Ali two weeks ago, as well as course winner Royal Mews and Listed Al Bastakiya winner Quality Boone.

“Quality Boone has his first run after his injury last time out in the UAE Derby,” said trainer Olascoaga. “He spent the summer in Dubai recovering and we’re very happy to have him back fit and ready to run. The class he showed, we still see it every morning. He’s developed into a big and strong horse.”

The card closes with Azizi Riviera Handicap, over 1600metres on turf. Turkish raider Aegean Finale tops the weights in a full field of 16, while Italian G3 winner Flamingo Girl makes his debut for Doug Watson and his first start since October 2021.

“He’ll need the run and I was surprised by the handicap mark, which looks a bit high, bearing in mind the time off,” said Justin Byrne, Racing Manager to owners Gary Allsopp & Partner. “The good thing about [a rating of] 99 is that we’ll get runs throughout the Carnival, although we do have options at Jebel Ali later on.”

The three-year-olds also take their chance on turf when a field of nine, including the Appleby-trained dual winner Princeville, line up in the Al Wasl Stakes, over 1200metres.

Racing gets underway at 6pm and tickets start at AED2, with hospitality starting at AED265. To book, visit www.dubairacingclub.com