GODOLPHIN GLEE AS THUNDER SNOW WINS DUBAI WORLD CUP
Eighth triumph for Bin Suroor as Baffert’s West Coast has to be content with second spot
Thunder Snow capped a superb night for Godolphin at Meydan Racecourse as he ran away with the Dubai World Cup yesterday.
On a day’s racing that saw the blue colours of Godolphin victorious four times from the nine races, it was Thunder Snow that prevailed to take all the attention and headlines with jockey Christophe Soumillon aboard.
The Belgian settled Thunder Snow in front and never surrendered the advantage as they raced home clear of the American hall of fame trainer Bob Baffert’s pair West Coast and Mubtaahij.
It was the seventh time that Godolphin have won the race in Dubai and a first for a delighted Soumillon.
He credited following the instructions of trainer Saeed bin Suroor, whose success was the eighth time he has won the race, by getting out in front in the early part of proceedings to set up the victory.
“Saeed told me to get him the best start possible for him from the wide draw [Gate 10 in the 10-horse field],” said an ecstatic Soumillon.
“I never thought I would be making the running but no horses challenged early in the race. West Coast let me go. I was really cantering on the back straight and when I pushed him he kept finding.”
Thunder Snow had entered the race after a good Dubai World Cup Carnival outing, winning once and finishing runner up twice in the threerace Al Maktoum Challenge series, and Soumillon said this latest triumph only further underlines his pedigree.
“He’s a champion horse as a two-year-old in England and won the UAE Derby as a three-year-old and now won the Dubai World Cup as a fouryear-old. He’s an amazing,” Soumillon said.
The first success in the race had not sunk in for Soumillon and he said it was difficult to say how he felt when asked of his first Dubai World Cup success. “It is difficult to say how I’m feeling because it has not sunk in,” he said. “I had finished second one time but winning this was like a dream come true. When I was in the Jockeys Academy I was looking at these races and was screaming and crying when Cigar won. Today I won and it is fantastic.”
The victory denied Bob Baffert, the trainer of West Coast, back-to-back wins after he had prevailed 12 months earlier with Arrogate.
Javier Castellano, the jockey of West Coast, said that Thunder Snow had simply been too good on the day and had too much power on the final straight.
“I was in a perfect spot and I didn’t have any complaints at all,” he said.
“Turning for home I thought I might be able to get to the winner, but he just moved away and was very impressive.”
Bin Suroor and Charlie Appleby, two Godolphin trainers, shared two races wins each to cap a dream day.
“We won two years in a row and now we come back to win a Group 1, which is a very good result and brilliant,” said Bin Suroor of his first success in the main race since saddling Prince Bishop to victory in 2015.
“The jockey has done a great job despite drawn in Gate No 10. What he has done that nobody has done. To take from Gate 10 and take him to position from where can win is superb.”
Godolphin’s other successes yesterday came with Hawkbill prevailing in the Dubai Sheema Classic, while Benbartl triumphed in the Dubai Turf and Jungle Cat was the victor in the Al Quoz Sprint.
But it was not just Godolphin who were celebrating at the finale to the 2017/18 UAE racing season.
Vazirabad became the first thoroughbred to win three races in the Dubai World Cup after completing a hat-trick of Dubai Gold Cup victories, and he achieved it in a new track record.
Mind Your Biscuits retained his hold on the Golden Shaheen in new record time.
he 2018 staging of the Dubai World Cup last night will be remembered as being Godolphin’s night as they won four of the nine races.
While Saeed bin Suroor had two wins, most notably Thunder Snow winning the Dubai World Cup, fellow Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby had an equally good evening’s work with two wins.
But it was not just Godolphin celebrating. Vazirabad made history in the Dubai Gold Cup and it was two in a row for Mind Your Biscuits in the Dubai Golden Shaheen.
Here is a look at the evening’s winners and how events unfolded.
Dubai Sheema Classic
Hawkbill was the second of Appleby’s two wins as he dominated to triumph in the Dubai Sheema Classic, with the only drama for the Godolphin charge coming before proceedings had even begun.
Hawkbill had been caught in the gate before the start and had to be removed by handlers before being able to settle and get away with the rest of the field at the start.
The five-year-old chestnut son of Kitten’s Joy came into the race having won the Group 2 City Of Gold, the prep race, at the Dubai World Cup Carnival on Super Saturday and he maintained that form in front of a packed Meydan.
William Buick briefly raced behind Poet’s Word but was soon in front, taking the shortest way home to win by a convincing three lengths for the Michael Stoutetrained runner, with another Godolphin horse, Cloth Of Stars, in third.
Appleby admitted he feared the worst when Hawkbill had his problems in the gates before the start.
“Hawkbill has been a model of consistency and Will has given him a fantastic ride,” he told reporters.
“When he was in the gates and started to have a bit of a go I thought ‘oh, no’, but he was sound and they’ve allowed him to run and I’m delighted. It’s a huge team effort.”
Dubai Turf
Benbatl gave Godolphin their second win of the night and the first of Bin Suroor’s two successes.
Oisin Murphy atop the Dubawi colt settled in fourth behind the early pace-setter, Janoobi under Jim Crowley.
He moved into second as they approached the home turn and was well in control in front from 300m out to win convincingly over Japanese trio Vivlos, last year’s winner, Real Steel and Deidre.
Benbatl won twice over the course and distance before a narrow defeat to another Godolphin horse, Blair House, in his three starts in the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
Bin Suroor said: “He broke well tonight and had a nice position all the way. I wasn’t surprised he won like that, because he had been working very well.
“The plan will now be to go back to Royal Ascot for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
“He’s been improving all the time and now he’s a Group One winner.”
Murphy added: “It’s very hard to find a world-class horse to ride, but he is a horse you dream about.
“He’s very talented and today he had a good trip and showed his class.”
Dubai Golden Shaheen
A track record was claimed when Mind Your Biscuits blazed the 1,200-metre trip on the dirt to retain his hold on the Dubai Golden Shaheen.
Joel Rosario atop the fiveyear-old by Posse came from the back of the field after a slow start but Mind Your Biscuits was flying towards the end as he pipped X Y Jet and Roy H for an American domination of the race.
Trainer Chad Summers said of his winner: “He’s a horse that knows where the wire is and he just never gives up.
“It’s never about the trainer and never should be about the trainer. For the horse, it’s important he showed who the real Mind Your Biscuits was.”
Jordan Sport and X Y Jet bowled along in front closely followed by Matera Sky and Roy H on the outside. And when it looked like Emisael Jaramillo had the race in the bag on board X Y Jet, Mind Your Biscuits struck, clocking 1 minute, 10.12 seconds over the distance.
Al Quoz Sprint
Appleby celebrated his first winner in the Dubai World Cup after James Doyle powered Jungle Cat to victory ahead of American pair Stormy Liberal and Conquest Tsunami.
The Godolphin trainer suffered a setback just before the start when his international favourite, Blue Point, was a late withdrawal after he was found bleeding from the nose.
Jungle Cat completed a hattrick after winning twice in the Dubai World Cup Carnival in the build-up to this year’s World Cup.
“I said before the race that if Blue Point was to falter tonight then Jungle Cat would be there to pick up the pieces,” Appleby said.
“I don’t know what happened with Blue Point but there just seemed to be a trickle of blood from his nose. Once he was withdrawn I knew I had to compose myself as Jungle Cat was in the form of his life.
“The team has done a fantastic job and I am delighted to win. I fancied him last year but the rain came and he finished fourth. He is now a Group 1 winner and I am very proud of him.”
UAE Derby
Mendelssohn turned the UAE Derby into a procession. The Aidan O’Brien-trained Scatt Daddy colt was quick out of the gate and raced in front before storming clear on the home stretch under Ryan Moore to win by 18 and-a-half lengths.
Mendelssohn won in a new track record time of 1 minute, 55.19 seconds.
“We are over the moon,” said trainer O’Brien, who won the UAE Derby for the third time.
“He came forward lovely from his run at Dundalk a few weeks ago. He is bred to handle the dirt, being by Scat Daddy. But that was an unbelievable performance. We weren’t sure how he would handle the distance but you have to say he saw it out pretty well.”
Moore added: “It’s the first time he’s been in front today and he’s still a horse that’s learning, so he was still a bit green in places.
“It was his first run on dirt, so that was huge for him, and it was his first time at this trip, so that was another question mark.
“He’s a high-quality horse who has got better with every start.”
The Doug Watson-trained filly Rayya under Pat Dobbs stayed on the pace to take second from the American raider Reride trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Javier Castelleno.
Godolphin’s Gold Town, who came into the race having won two successive races, including the UAE 2000 Guineas, could finish only fourth.
Dubai Gold Cup
Vazirabad won a record third Dubai Gold Cup to become the first thoroughbred to win three races at the Dubai World Cup. He did so in style too, with a new track record time of 3 minutes,17.92 seconds.
Christophe Soumillon atop Vazirabad timed his run to perfection with a now familiar manoeuvre from the back of the field to win by a length from Sheikhzayedroad and Godolphin’s Rare Rhythm.
“He was making history and I hope there is more to come in future and that we can be back next year for even more,” Soumillon said. “He’s a good horse. He got beat on his first run here, but Alain [De Royer Dupre, the trainer] knows how to get him fit and he has done a great job. All the wins have been different but to do it three times is history.”
The Godolphin pair, Frontiersman under James Doyle and Gerald Mosse on Red Galileo, set a cracking pace early in the race but that only played into the hands of Vazirabad.
Dubai Kahayla Classic
Tallaab Al Khalediah provided Saudi Arabia with their first ever victory in the Purebred Arabian showpiece, the Dubai Kahayla Classic.
Trained by Mutlaq bin Mashref and ridden by Roberto Perez, Tallaab Al Khalediah kept up his 100 per cent record with a fifth win from five races as he proved to be the class of the field.
Perez raced behind the early leader, AF Al Sajanjle, in the early proceedings. He moved to the front as they approached the final bend and then held on to prevail from the Oisin Murphy-ridden Chaddad, who pipped Jim Crowley atop Barnamaj close to the line for second spot.
Perez said of the result: “It is the second big win for this horse and I have ridden him both times.
“When I put him into the front I knew I had to save a little bit as he has been winning over 1800m and had 200m more to go today, but he stayed it well. The race went very well and he did nothing wrong.”
Godolphin Mile
Heavy Metal under Moore clinched the Godolphin Mile to provide Indian trainer Sandeep Jadhav his first winner with his first runner in the Dubai World Cup meeting.
Muntazah ridden by Jim Crowley took second in the Group 2 race on dirt, ahead of Japanese raider Adirato with Christophe Lemaire.
Heavy Metal, who was well beaten in the race last year, the eight-year-old gelding by Exceed And Excel has now won four races in six starts this season.
Moore had Heavy Metal in front after jumping out of Gate 9 and travelled well to win comfortably in the end. Crowley came from the middle of the pack to take second on Muntazah to overtake Adirato close to the finishing line.
Jadhav said: “He had a really nice trip. Heavy Metal is a dream horse for the yard.
“He fought to the winning line and then we all went crazy. It’s out of this world, a dream come true.”