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| Staff Writer |
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The likely contenders for Dubai World Cup night are slowly revealing themselves. Last week, the exciting news emerged that Lord North is on course for the Dubai Turf, which he has won for the past three years. Although he had to share one of his successes with the mighty Japanese runner Panthalassa, with whom he deadheated on the line, there is no denying Lord North's right to be regarded as a three-time winner of this Group one race. His attempt at taking his tally to four lifts him to the verge of a place in recent horseracing history.
While thoroughbred races throughout the world have always attracted a certain status, actual grading by recognizable quality criterion is a fairly recent phenomenon. Retrospective consideration might produce other contenders, but as far as I have been able to discover, just three horses can claim to have won the same Group one race four times since international classifications were introduced in the early 1970s.
Goldikova stands clear as the winningmost horse in Group one company, with seven to her name. She also figures on a reasonably long list of three-timer winners, joined notably by Stradivarius for a treble in the Gold Cup at Ascot and Enable, for three wins in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over the same course. The association with Lord North becomes even more apparent, since they all hailed from the Newmarket stable of John Gosden.
The family connection with Meydan goes back a little farther, for Najoum, the Godolphin-bred dam of Lord North, made her final racecourse appearance there. Although not with great distinction, it has to be admitted. Trained by Saeed bin Suroor to win two of her three races as a 2YO, she next ran in the UAE 1000 Guineas Trial but broke awkwardly and trailed the field into eighth place behind Reem and left for the breeding sheds. Her third foal was Lord North, who won on his October debut, repeated the feat on his reappearance as a 3YO and then, having been awkward to get in the stalls, finished last to a stablemate in a Listed race. The decision was taken to geld him, and he has not looked back since.
Thady came forward last week, after confirmation of Lord North's pre-Dubai entry in Lingfield's Winter Derby on 24th February was revealed, to say that the 8YO was "in good health after a nice break and we like to think he maintains the same level of ability as before." That's one of the questions to be answered in the next few weeks. Another is who will ride Lord North at Meydan, where he is unbeaten for Frankie Dettori. Regular stable rider Rab Havlin and James Doyle, who is now retained by one of Gosden's other patrons Wathnan Racing, are the only others who have ridden Lord North. The guessing game starts here.
There was a buzz in Arabian-racing circles about First Classs, trained by Alban De Mieulle and later by his nephew Jean De Mieulle, when he won the prestigious Group one double of the Dubai Kahayla Classic and the Jewel Crown in 2022. He was known for his classy demeanor, and people joked that he even had an extra 'S' in his name.
Fast forward to today, and the 7YO has been transferred to Doug Watson's yard, where he finished fifth in defense of the Jewel Crown last December. He's expected to perform well again under stable jockey Pat Dobbs, and the other notable name in this race is Ahmad bin Harmash's Barakka. Barakka is starting the race as the top-rated contender, having climbed the ratings' ladder last year. He had an impressive campaign, starting out as a maiden winner and ending with an agonizingly close second on the Dubai World Cup card. His win included outperforming First Classs, who he held in check by more than eight lengths.
Alarqam, trained by Musabbeh Al Mheiri, is the unexposed prospect in the race. He has a long way to go before he can be considered among the best, but his two facile successes at Al Ain in maiden company prior to a win-restricted event have propelled his mark to a whopping 108. Irish jockey Tadgh O’Shea has partnered him on both occasions, and he has retained the ride aboard the 5YO. He is still progressing with every run, and while this race might be too soon of a test, he is someone to watch out for.
Stable companion Rajeh is another one to keep an eye on. He won this race in 2022 and still possesses the ability to compete at the highest level, as adjudged by his seventh-place finish in this term’s Jewel Crown latest. Under the care of the Emirati trainer and re-united with Antonio Fresu, he has a fair chance of winning. The evergreen
Deryan, progressive Faaris, and interesting local recruit Thaydah Athbah are also among the 16 that make the lineup for the opening contest on Fashion Friday.