Dubai World Cup-winning owner Team Valor International is hoping for more Meydan glory and could have a pair of runners at the world-leading $35 million meeting. If all goes well with necessary preparations and invitations, UK-based Spanish Mission—winner of Belmont’s $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational and Newmarket’s Bahrain Trophy (G3)—could have either the $6 million Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) or $1.5 million Dubai Gold Cup sponsored by Al Tayer Motors (G2) on his schedule. Additionally, exciting California-based G3 winner Oleksandra could throw her bonnet into the ring for the $2 million Al Quoz Sprint sponsored by Azizi Developments (G1).
Spanish Mission, trained by David Simcock at Trillium Place in Newmarket, arrived on Feb. 13 and cleared quarantine on Feb. 15 for his conditioner, who has already head a fruitful Dubai World Cup Carnival with a pair of victories from only six starts. The three-time winner from seven tries is expected to open his airways next week in the Dubai Gold Cup’s final local prep, the $300,000 Nad Al Sheba Trophy (G3) over 2800m.
“Spanish Mission runs on Feb. 27 in the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy,” said Barry Irwin, Team Valor CEO. “After which, we will decide whether to run him at 12 or 16 furlongs on (Dubai) World Cup night. He is quite versatile. Long range, we think he is a Melbourne Cup horse.”
Australia’s prestigious Melbourne Cup (G1) is contested over the same 3200m distance as the Dubai Gold Cup and is scheduled for Nov. 3. On the other side of the distance spectrum is Oleksandra, who actually began her career in Australia and is a daughter of Team Valor’s Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom. A turf sprinter, she won Keeneland’s Franklin County Stakes (G3) over 1100m in October for trainer Neil Drysdale and has been working steadily this winter at Santa Anita.
“We are pointing (Oleksandra) for the Group 1 Al Quoz,” Irwin continued. “(She) worked (800m) in :50 this morning, something she has done once a week for more than a month as she was being freshened. Now Neil Drysdale will start cranking her up at Santa Anita, ship her to Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida to breeze on the grass March 16 to break up the trip to Dubai, then fly her to UAE on March 17. Joel Rosario will ride her at Meydan.”
Team Valor, which has already had two lucrative starts this DWC Carnival with Cape Verdi (G2) and Balanchine (G2) runner-up Nisreen, also owned 2003 Dubai Duty Free (G1)—now the Dubai Turf sponsored by DP World (G1)—winner Ipi Tombe.
“We are going to bring Nisreen back to France on Feb 23,” Irwin added. “We are going to breed her in France to Le Havre, keep her in training and probably offer her in December at either Arqana or Tattersalls.”
GHAIYYATH GETS GOING ON 2020 SEASON
One could easily mistakenly assume that the highest-rated Dubai-based horse is Benbatl (125), but there is actually one horse rated higher in fellow Godolphin colour-bearer Ghaiyyath (126). Unlike Saeed bin Suroor-trained Benbatl, who has earned Group 1 wins on three continents over multiple seasons of grinding out his reputation against the world’s best, Ghaiyyath has been a bit of a project of patience for his connections, racing only eight times over three seasons, but flashing a level of dominance befitting such a high mark.
One of those moments was two races back in September, when the blue-blooded son of two Irish Guineas winners (2005 Irish 2000 Guineas (G1) winner Dubawi and 2006 Irish 1000 Guineas (G1) winner Nighttime) ran out a 14-length victor of the Grosser Preis von Baden (G1)—an effort that propelled him into the following month’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) as the fourth-favourite in the field of 12. Things did not go to plan that day, as he was eased from pressure after setting the pace and fading. Now, at age five, he has his sights set on another rich 12-furlong prize in the $6 million Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) and is using Thursday’s $200,000 Dubai Millennium (G3) over 2000m as a springboard.
“He’s the highest-rated horse in the race and we know he predominately runs well fresh, so that’s why we are working backward from the Sheema Classic,” Appleby said. “That’s why I have come a couple weeks forward, rather than the usual trial route in the (Group 2 Dubai) City of Gold (on March 7). I thought this was timing-wise better for him. Preparation has gone well. He looks well and he’s fresh, so we expect a good run out of him on Thursday. Again, the target is the Sheema, so he’s not fully wound up by any stretch of the imagination. He’s fit enough to come out and run. If he turns up (victorious) there, he’s the class horse in the race, anyway. Whatever he does, hopefully we have the improvement there for the Sheema Classic.”
The half-brother to Man o’ War (G1) winner Zhukova appears easily the horse to beat in the 10-furlong affair and returns to a trip at which he is 2-for-3, including a pair of Group victories. He will be joined on the card by fellow high-profile Appleby trainees Zakouski and Mythical Magic, who headline the $250,000 Zabeel Mile (G3), won last year by the latter. The former is a 109-rated, extremely exciting type who has raced only thrice, including a proper pounding of DWC Carnival runners in the 1400m Meydan Challenge (Listed) on Jan. 2.
“Mythical Magic is doing the same sort of route as last year, where he was second in the (Group 2 Al) Fahidi (Fort on Jan. 23) and then hopefully he can step forward one place and go very close there in the Zabeel Mile. He’s come out of the Al Fahidi in good order and the step up to a mile was always going to suit him, so he was always going to be a major player and the one to beat.
“Zakouski is a horse who’s obviously won nicely in his handicap debut there and he’s definitely come forward for that run,” Appleby continued. “He obviously had been tried at Group company in the past in the Craven, but he’s a different individual and character now and we’ve gelded him since then. This is his first step back up into Group class again, but we feel he deserves to have a crack at it and he’s the younger pretender compared to Mythical Magic, who’s sort of been there and done it. Two nice horses to have in the race.”
Ghaiyyath has drawn the outside post six in the Dubai Millennium and will be ridden by William Buick. Said jockey will also be aboard Mythical Magic (post two), while James Doyle rides Zakouski (post one) in the seven-horse Zabeel Mile.
EQUILATERAL READY TO SQUARE UP
Looking to earn Group 2 credentials, Equilateral takes on a field of 10 in Thursday’s $250,000 Group 2 Meydan Sprint over 1000m. The 5-year-old son of Equiano, a Charlie Hills trainee, began the year a dominant winner of the $175,000 Dubai Dash (Listed) four weeks ago over this distance. He was ridden that day by James Doyle, who will be aboard once again on Thursday.
In said effort, he beat Waady by two lengths and boosted his rating top 112. Waady has since come back and won well in the Reach Handicap by a half a length and returns for another chance at the big favourite over the same distance.
If all goes well for Equilateral, and Waady for that matter, a trip to the $2 million Al Quoz Sprint sponsored by Azizi Developments (G1) could be in order. The 1200m affair has been won by Meydan Sprint winners Shea and Blue Point in 2013 and 2019, respectively.
“It’s always been the plan to run him in this race so that we had a chance to freshen him up (after the Dubai Dash),” Hills said. “We have had a couple very nice pieces of work with him and James Doyle came and sat on him and was very pleased. I couldn’t be happier with how he’s training and how he looks. He’s put his weight back on and his coat is coming through nicely, so I think he really enjoys it over there. The track also suits him, being a flat, fast course.”
Gelded over winter, the well-regarded charge looks to stake his claim as the best sprinter on the grounds with a repeat performance.
“We weren’t getting too far with him being a full horse and he always worked very well, but never seemed to put that on the racecourse, but he certainly has now,” Hills explained. “It’s nice to see him improve like this and the prize money is fantastic at Meydan. He just seems to be thriving.
“(Any lack of pace) shouldn’t be an issue for him, as he’s made the running before and won,” he continued. “If he runs well, we’ll keep (training) him the same way and if he goes on to the (Group 1 $2 million Al Quoz Sprint over 1200m), hopefully he will keep travelling and finishing like he did last time. I think we could still see some improvement from him.”