SUPER SAEED
Last year was a kind of a quiet night, by Saeed bin Suroor’s standards. The ace Emirati trainer, with the most number of wins on the biggest showpiece of them all — the Dubai World Cup — had just two runners across two races and none at all in the richest horse race on the planet.
He had Very Special in the Dubai Turf and Haafaguinea in the Dubai Gold Cup, both, the rides of James Doyle. But there was no contender in the Dubai World Cup, a race he literally
owned with seven wins. Saeed bin Suroor had said then that he only 30 horses across stables and none were ready to make the step up. It was more a case of quality rather than quantity and Saeed bin Suroor wasn’t going to compromise on that.
The Godolphin trainer has had an astute eye when it comes to spotting a good race horse and after that hiatus last year, Saeed bin Suroor believes he has one that can crank it up on Dubai World Cup night.
Move Up is a strong contender for the spoils in the Dubai World Cup and Saeed bin Suroor hopes to saddle the fouryear-old son of Dubawi, onto the path of Almutawakel (1999), Dubai Millennium (2000), Street Cry (2002), Moon Ballad (2003), Electrocutionist (2006), African Story (2014) and Prince Bishop (2015).
“As you have seen in the past, we have had seven winners in the Dubai World Cup. And as always, the quality of horses in the field is quite strong with horses coming from Japan as well as the USA and every other place in the world. They are hard to beat but our horse is doing good and he is in good condition. And we are looking for a good run from him (Move Up),” Saeed bin Suroor said at the Meydan Racecourse on Thursday morning.
“With Move Up, he’s the horse we think he can do it. Like Dubawi, he can run both surfaces. The way he looks physically, he has improved a lot since his last run. It has given us confidence and a chance for him to see how he goes,” he added.
But there is that small little matter of the Americans who are out in full force, with Bob Baffert’s Arrogate leading the act. Saeed bin Suroor has been in it long enough to know the game and while paying tribute to Arrogate, the Emirati warned it won’t be a cakewalk.
“Arrogate is a great horse. The horse is always running in America and on the same surface, the same trip. He has come here with a big reputation and I have respect for him but our horse is proving all the time and we will see how
With Move Up, he’s the horse we think he can do it. Like Dubawi, he can run both surfaces Saeed bin Suroor
Arrogate is a great horse. The horse is always running in America and on the same surface, the same trip. He has come here with a big reputation and I have respect for himr Saeed bin Suroor