Runner scratched from Cape Guineas
NO REST: PATHWAY TO HONOUR BACK IN ACTION AFTER WEEKEND VICTORY
Perfect Sense looks good bet in final event.
Five days after opening his UAE account at Abu Dhabi, Pathway To Honour is sent in to battle in Race 3, tomorrow’s feature race at Jebel Ali which is a valuable 1400m handicap. Trained by Ahmad bin Harmash, he impressed on Sunday in the UAE capital on his seasonal debut, coming with a late burst to nail Najm Suhail close home.
The booking of British champion Silvestre De Sousa, who enjoyed no luck aboard Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Stormy Liberal in Sunday’s Hong Kong Sprint, by Bin Harmash to partner the son of New Approach is eye-catching. The Brazilian rider has enjoyed plenty of success in the Emirates in his previous winter stints, most notably winning the 2014 Dubai World Cup on African Story when retained by Godolphin.
Pathway To Honor is having his first run on dirt and if adapting to the conditions, he should put up a bold show in his current form. Satish Seemar’s Speedy Move (Colm O’Donoghue) and Above Normal, the mount of Richard Mullen, head the list of dangers, along with locally-trained Gobooll, runner-up to the exciting Daily Bulletin on his most recent outing.
Perfect Sense, representing Godolphin, is hard to oppose in the finale, a 1600m maiden. Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, he made a promising start to his UAE career when running well in a competitive handicap at Jebel Ali last month. Ridden by Pat Cosgrave, he made late progress to finish a creditable third behind Shillong and Denzille Lane, beaten less than five lengths in the 13-runner event having not enjoyed the clearest of passages in the closing stages.
The form of the race has been well advertised by the runnerup, who has since won at Meydan, while the fourth home (First Down) was narrowly beaten at Jebel Ali on his next appearance. Perfect Sense will appreciate stepping back into maiden company and gets a confident vote to open his account at the sixth time of asking, and provide Suroor with his first winner at Jebel Ali for a very long time.
Au Coeur may emerge as the biggest threat to the selection. He showed promise on his racecourse debut last year before losing his way. If he handles the dirt and the undulations of Jebel Ali, he ought to run well.