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| Sumita Pawar |
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Charlie Appleby and Godolphin continued their winning streak at Meydan Racecourse on Friday night, dominating the Gr.3 Dubai Millennium Stakes presented by Al Tayer Motors. Mickael Barzalona rode Warren Point to victory in a close race, with the 5YO Dubawi gelding becoming Appleby's seventh-consecutive and eighth overall winner of the race.
Victory in the feature event of the nine-race programme sponsored entirely by Al Tayer Motors marked Appleby's second-straight quartet of winners over successive race meetings at Dubai's iconic racing venue. Godolphin also stamped their authority on the 2000m turf affair for the 10th time in its 11 runnings.
Jamie Osborne's Solid Stone led for most of the race, with Appleby's race favourite New London happy to be kept on the outside of the second running pair by William Buick. Warren Point, on the other hand, stayed at the rear of the field in the company of another Osborne trainee, Sean, the ride of Adrie de Vries. Hitting the straight, Sean went first as a perfect path opened for him along the rail. However, Warren Point found no such favour and after running out of patience, Frenchman Barzalona decided to follow Sean's hoofsteps and squeezed his mount between horses to hit the line hard with a lunge that denied Sean by a short head. Osborne had to be content with saddling a 2-3 as Sean's Barratt Racing teammate and stable companion Solid Stone ran in a further three-quarters of a length behind.
Warren Point's victory brought up a treble for Appleby, whose first two winners were supplied by his first-choice rider Buick. Cinderella's Dream led home a 1-2 for Godolphin and the Newmarket-based trainer in the 1400m Jumeirah Fillies' Classic presented by Lincoln Aviator. Mischief Magic won the 1200m Dubai Sprint presented by Lincoln Navigator, while Legend Of Time won the Jumeirah Guineas presented by Lincoln Nautilus. The evening got underway with Jaber Bittar's Al Reef Stable-owned Game Time being steered expertly to the front by Sandro Paiva in the 1600m Lincoln 0-80 handicap, the only Purebred Arabian event on the card.
Musabbeh Al Mheiri's Elyabri upset the odds massively to win the 1900m Lincoln Presidential under Bernardo Pinheiro. Doug Watson and Jim Crowley added to their tallies after Shadwell-owned Mayaadeen only just managed to hold on in the 1400m Lincoln (56-75) handicap.
Bhupat Seemar's My Dubawi landed the 1400m Lincoln (75-95) handicap with relative ease under Tadhg O'Shea, the pair three-and-a-half lengths clear of Salem bin Ghadayer's Desert Safari at the wire. Finally, Lucie Botti's Royal Dubai won the concluding Lincoln Corsair (70-95) handicap after a well-timed ride from Pat Dobbs enabled the horse to win the 1800m turf affair by two lengths from Ahmad bin Harmash's Ursa Minor, ridden by Connor Beasley.