 |
|
| Staff Writer |
 |
In preparation for the Gr.1 Dubai World Cup races, the overseas invasion continues with a "Fashion Friday" program on 26th January. This program features candidates for many of the significant races two months down the road, including Clapton, prepping for the World Cup itself, and Mawj, who finished second to Master of The Seas in the Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Mile in her last outing. American trainer Chad Summers trains Clapton, who was last seen disappointing in the Breeders' Cup Classic .
The Gr.3 UAE Two Thousand Guineas is a race that serves as a prep for the UAE Derby on World Cup night. The winner of the UAE Derby receives 100 points on Churchill Downs' Road to the Kentucky Derby.
This year, the "Fashion Friday" more or less overshadows the "Super Saturday" on 2nd March in the restructured World Cup Carnival. The restructuring was designed to attract foreigners to the desert as early as possible. As a sign of success, the Al Maktoum Challenge at 1,900 meters (1 3/16 miles) on the dirt has a field as international as you please, from Clapton to Kentucky-bred but Russian-trained Kabirkhan.
"We think that maybe he didn't like being on the inside," Summers said of Clapton's 11th-place Classic finish at Santa Anita Park, per Dubai Racing Club. "When he's inside horses he feels like he's running in quicksand. He's such a big horse that we'd like him to really get into his rhythm, and if we lose a little bit of ground, that's okay.”
Kabirkhan won his previous local start with ease after dominating rivals in Russia as a 3YO. Other horses with international roots include First Constitution and Atletico El Culano.
Eight are signed on for the UAE Two Thousand Guineas with Oasis Boy, winner of two of three starts in his native Argentina, highest-rated. Ma Yetal, a Flameaway colt undefeated and largely untested in two local runs is notable by his absence. Quartier, second to Ma Yetal at Meydan on 5th Jan in his first start outside Uruguay, and Military Artist, third in the same heat, will give an indication of the quality of that race.
Bin Suroor and Murphy are sending out Mawj, a 4YO filly by Exceed And Excel, in the Jebel Hatta. This is an 1,800-meter turf contest setting up the always-tough Dubai Turf on World Cup night. Mawj won twice during the 2023 Carnival and moved along to England, where she landed the 2023 One Thousand Guineas at Newmarket. She won the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in October before just missing in the Breeders' Cup.
The Jebel Hatta might be the toughest of the night's tasks as the field includes three other Godolphin runners, Measured Time, Highland Avenue, and Ottoman Fleet, all trained by Charlie Appleby; San Donato and El Patriota, first and third in the Gr.2 Zabeel Mile in their last start; and Spirit Dancer, winner of the Gr.2 Bahrain International Trophy in November.
On the dirt, the Firebreak Stakes, a prep for the Godolphin Mile, and the Al Shindagha Sprint at 1,200 meters, an audition for the Dubai Golden Shaheen, are the supporting events. On the turf, the supporting events are the Blue Point Sprint at 1,000 meters and the Al Fahidi Fort, either or both of which could be used to prepare for the 1,200 meters of the Al Quoz Sprint on the World Cup undercard.
One thing for sure about "Fashion Friday": No matter how difficult any of these races may be, the pending influx of world-class talent from around the globe will make their counterpart heats on March 30 much tougher.