Golden Shaheen too close to call
dubai — Just like the main race, the Dubai World Cup, the Dubai Golden Shaheen is too close to call, with a plethora of strong contenders.
It is a eight-horse field, reduced from 10 following the withdrawals of Muarrab and Shillong, for the $2 million Group 1 race to be run over six furlongs, and Mind Your Biscuits will be aiming for a title defence.
American handler Chad Summers is confident that the five-yearold from Posse can stave off the challenge from Roy H, XY Jet and perhaps even the ‘old man’ Reynaldothewizard.
Mind Your Biscuits overcame an unfavourable Gate 14 and a slow start before swooping down from the right to win and give Summers his first victory as a trainer.
And Summers, is hoping he can do more of the same and keep the rest of them at bay. Mind Your Biscuits will break from Gate 1.
Roy H, saddled by Peter Miller, is an interesting prospect and the six-year-old from More Than Ready, will be ridden by celebrated jockey Kent Desormeaux and lines up at Stall 6.
Jorge Navarro’s XY Jet returns to race again under Emisael Jaramillo but the sentimental favourite for the race is Dubai-based Indian trainer Satish Seemar’s beloved Reynaldothewizard.
The son of Speightstown, Reynaldothewizard is 12 years old now, and this could be his swansong. Reynaldothewizard won this race in 2013 and if Richard Mullen can pull it off, it would be a great ending to his career.
Reynaldothewizard had drawn Gate 3.
Meanwhile, the $2 million Group 2 UAE Derby Sponsored By Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group looks a three-horse fight between Godolphin’s Gold Town, Seemar’s Yulong Warrior and Aiden O’Brien’s Mendelssohn.
Trained by Charlie Appleby and the mount of William Buick, Gold Town will break from Gate 5, while Yulong Warrior, who was quite impressive in his last run, a 11.5 length victory over Nordic Defense, lines up at Stall 7.
Mendelssohn, the ride of Ryan Moore, will start from Gate 4.
Elsewhere, Ziyadd is a clear favourite for the $1 million Group 1 Dubai Kahayla Classic Sponsored by Mubadala, the only race for Purebred Arabians.
james@khaleejtimes.com