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| Staff Writer |
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Destructive, trained by Michael Bell, will have his final opportunity to qualify for the Dubai World Cup meeting at the last Dubai Racing Carnival event on Friday.
Despite finishing fourth in both of his previous appearances, the More Than Ready colt has shown promise. He is currently under the care of the trainer's son, Nick, who is optimistic that a strong performance in this race could secure an invitation to the Gr.2 UAE Derby on 30th March.
“The plan, ever since he was shipped out to Dubai, was to try and gain entry into the UAE Derby,” he said.
“I thought he ran very well last time considering he missed a beat out of the stalls, and we are going to equip him with a stalls rug on Friday as he was a little fractious in the gates last time.
“Ben Coen breezed him on Monday morning and was very happy with him, but unfortunately, he can’t do the weight on Friday, so we have a very able deputy in Pat Cosgrave.
“The only slight negative to Destructive’s chance is that run will be his third in quite quick succession. However, we aren’t seeing any sign of that in his work which continues to be excellent.”
Among Destructive's 14 competitors are El Introvertido, who finished second in the previous race, and Elaybri, who triumphed over this course and distance in his last two outings.
Race five, a 1600-meter turf handicap sponsored by Emaar, stands as the most prestigious Thoroughbred event of the day, boasting a prize purse of AED210,000.
In ths highly competitive 15-runner field, Royal Dubai emerges as a contender. Despite finishing fifth in the Gr.2 Singspiel Stakes, he previously claimed victory over 1800 meters in his two previous starts.
“Royal Dubai hasn’t stop improving this year after starting from a [handicap mark of] 90 two months ago,” said trainer Lucie Botti. “He needs to defeat a mark of 100 against some very respected horses with solid form. However, he seems still in good form and we are really looking forward to see him run this Friday.”
Facing them is South American Gr.1 victor Ajuste Fiscal, making his debut on turf since 2022, and McManaman, who clinched victory in his last outing over 1400 meters.
In the subsequent 1900-meter dirt handicap, race six, the field appears wide open with 14 contenders. Among them are Lion’s Mane, who emerged victorious in his previous race over 2200 meters, and Mashkoor, who secured his maiden victory at Jebel Ali just five weeks ago.
Trained and owned by Marwan Al Baidhaei, Mashkoor marked the second win for his owner in only his second season of training.
“Mashkoor is healthy and training well coming up to the race,” said Al Baidhaei, who has a healthy strike rate, with two winners from just 12 runners this season. “I’m confident he’ll run a good race if things go well until race day.”
On a highly competitive race card, the 1200-meter turf handicap in race seven stands out as one of the most challenging to predict.
Batwan, a dual Carnival winner, carries the highest weight among the field of 16. Despite finishing tenth in the Gr.3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint last Saturday, the 9YO is back for another shot.
“Batwan is nine and you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” said Marine Henry, assistant to trainer Nicolas Caullery. “Last Saturday's race was too fast, so he didn’t push himself; he knew it was too tough. He seemed like a new horse the next day and is eager for this race. His revised rating allows him to enter this handicap, and this distance suits him well.”
A strong contender in the race could be Vespasian, previously victorious over 1000 meters and second in his last outing behind Topper Bill.
“He’s been consistently performing since he started racing in Dubai,” said co-trainer Ed Crisford. “Although he has mostly run 1000-meter races here, we are confident he'll handle the extra furlong at Meydan, considering his success over longer distances back in the UK. He’s been training exceptionally well and showing improvement with each race.”
The race card commences with the prestigious Gr.2 Mazrat Al Ruwayah, a 1600-meter turf race for Purebred Arabians, sponsored by Emaar. This race, won by AF Almomayez in 2023, marks its first staging on turf.
A full field of 16 runners will compete, including Ernst Oertel-trained AF Alajaj, the winner of this race on dirt in 2022, and multiple Group One winner Rajeh.