Watson’s Super Saturday Mission

Two Runners, One Proving Ground, And The Road To World Cup Night

Doug Watson will send just two horses to post on Super Saturday at Meydan Racecourse on February 28, but both carry genuine Dubai World Cup night ambitions. Cats By Five lines up in the Gr.3 Mahab Al Shimaal, the 1,200-metre dirt sprint worth AED1,200,000. Tap Leader contests the Gr.2 Al Maktoum Classic over 2,000 metres. It is a quiet evening for the eight-time UAE Champion Trainer, but a pivotal one.

“We’ll have a quiet night on Super Saturday,” the master of Red Stables says from his base in the heart of Dubai, home for more than three decades. “But hopefully they prove themselves.”

Proving themselves is the theme. Super Saturday is where his two most exciting Carnival performers must show they belong at the highest level. Beyond them, a freshened Group One winner and a well-travelled new recruit are waiting in the wings for March 28.

The Sprinter On The Rise

Cats By Five, a 5YO gelding by Audible owned by RRR Racing, has been one of the stories of the Carnival. His two wins over 1,200 metres on the Meydan dirt have been emphatic. In January, the son of Audible defeated Group One winner Danyah by more than a length in the GCC Handicap, clocking 1:12.32. Three weeks later he demolished Lahfaty by nearly five lengths in the Burj Azizi Handicap, sharpening his time to 1:11.71. His rating has climbed from 95 early in his career to 103.

Watson is under no illusions about what the Group Three feature represents. “Yes, we are targeting the Mahab Al Shimaal,” he confirms. “He’s on an upward trajectory. We bought him for these kinds of races. We need to run him against the best and see how we stack up. What he’s done so far, in my mind, makes him really eligible to run a huge race and get in on World Cup night, but we have to prove ourselves against the best.”

The 1,200-metre sprint is the traditional steppingstone to the Gr.1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on World Cup night, and stable jockey Pat Dobbs, who has been aboard for every one of the dark brown gelding’s meaningful performances this term, knows the horse inside out. The horse jumps super sharp and lays up on the pace. With the RRR Racing-owned sprinter’s rating now knocking on the door of 103, the timing feels right.

From Russia With Form

Tap Leader is the stayer with the backstory. The 5YO son of Tapiture arrived at Red Stables from Russia, where he won domestic Group One races at Nalchik and Kazan over 2,400 metres, added Group Two victories at Krasnodar and Rostov, and was ridden throughout by regular jockey M. Mamurov. His form told a clear story: over shorter trips the entire was not competitive at the top level, but once stepped up to 2,000 metres and beyond, he became a different horse entirely. It is the same route that brought Kabirkhan from the former Soviet circuit to Red Stables — and ultimately to a first Group One Thoroughbred victory for Watson in January 2024.

The original plan was to debut the Watson-trained entire at a higher level, but things didn’t quite go to script.
“I really haven’t seen a horse do what he did his first time out,” the trainer says. “We were actually going to run in the Al Maktoum Challenge, but he had a little hiccup. He didn’t miss any training, but we didn’t feel comfortable working him for it. So instead we entered him in the handicap. He took a lot of kickbacks but ran through it, went wide and stayed on to win. It was an impressive run.”

The American-bred won the 16-runner Jafza Handicap by a neck from Generous Tipper, and now steps into the Gr.2 Al Maktoum Classic — a significant class rise, but over his ideal distance.
“It should be a smaller field this time, and we’ll see how he stacks up against the better ones,” Watson adds. “We’re looking forward to it.”

Fresh From Riyadh

First Classs, the 9YO Purebred Arabian gelding owned by Deborah Mihaloff, produced a commanding performance on Saudi Cup night at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on February 14, winning the Gr.1 Obaiyah Arabian Classic by three and a half lengths from Vizhir under Connor Beasley.

The US$2 million (AED7.3 million) race yielded US$1.2 million (AED4.4 million) to the winner, and the veteran Arabian will now head straight to the Al Khayala Classic on Dubai World Cup night without a prep run, bidding for a historic third victory in the race.
“He came out of it really nice,” Watson reports. “He’s not back in Dubai yet. We’re going to give him a nice little break in quarantine and get him freshened up. Then we prep for World Cup night.”

Reinforcements For World Cup Night

Colour Up was supposed to strengthen the World Cup night hand from Riyadh, but the Thoroughbred never looked comfortable on the King Abdulaziz surface on Saudi Cup night. “I don’t think he liked the track as much as we thought he might,” Watson admits. The team are now working to secure a Dubai World Cup invite over the coming weeks, hoping that a return to Meydan dirt will bring the best out of him.

A more intriguing addition to the stable is Al Zeer, a 6YO French-bred grey by Al Mamun Monlau who arrives at Red Stables rated 117 on dirt and with a passport full of stamps. The Purebred Arabian has raced in France, Belgium, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia, competed in the Qatar Arabian World Cup (Gr.1) at Paris Longchamp in October 2025, won at Waregem in Belgium, and most recently lined up in the same Gr.1 Obaiyah Arabian Classic that First Classs won on Saudi Cup night.

Previously trained by Francois Rohaut and Ibrahim Al Hadhrami, the Ghrghar Stables-owned grey could yet give Watson a second runner in the Al Khayala Classic alongside his stable star.
“We’ve got a new Arabian coming in, Al Zeer,” the eight-time champion says. “He’d probably be eligible for the Al Khayala as well but it’s too early to tell.”

Built For Nights Like These

The picture that emerges is of a trainer with three decades in Dubai and eight championships behind him, still plotting and scheming for the biggest night of them all. Horses sourced from Russia, America, France, and elsewhere. Thoroughbreds and Purebred Arabians. Dirt sprints and middle distances.

The Red Stables team may be sending just two to Super Saturday, but if both prove themselves, their World Cup night squad could be one of the most diverse on the card.
“We bought him for these kinds of races,” Watson said of Cats By Five, but the line applies to the whole operation. Red Stables was built for nights like these.