Guns N' Glory secured a dominant victory on the final night of the Dubai Racing Carnival, qualifying them for the Gr2 UAE Derby on the day of the Dubai World Cup.
Trained by Bupat Seamer and ridden by Tadhg O'Shea, the colt Gun Runner saw little competition in the 1900m three-year-old race in Dubai Marina conditions.
Guns N' Glory cost owners Jim and Fitri Hay €543,210 at the 2023 Goffs Dubai Sale, but it's easy to see why he'll be making his third start. did it. He dominated the race from the front and then made a close comeback to beat defending winner Eliaburi by 12 lengths.
The victory further strengthens Zabeel Stable's already strong squad with Gr2 UAE Derby potential, with Guns N' Glory well placed to join stablemates Killer Collect and Mendelssohn Bey in the same race. It is possible that you have achieved results. However, it came at a price.
“His rider, Jennifer Ferguson, fell off yesterday and broke her leg because he's small and spends a lot of time on his back leg,” O'Shea said afterward. I said to the owner, Dr. Hay, “I thought we could win at first, but we needed that run and we were disappointed last time.'' At the beginning of the season we thought he was a UAE Derby horse so if the invitation came I'm sure they would be happy to take it. ”
Hay added: “Last time he was a bit childish, but tonight he showed he has improved by leaps and bounds. With a performance like this, I think he deserves to run in the Derby.”
It was a great night for Seemar. Mezzotinto's first win in Oasis Maiden's 22nd attempt in the second race over 1200 meters of dirt led to five times. With O'Shea in the lead, the 6-year-old pushed further in the straight, overtaking the unbeatable winner and defeating fellow stablemate Sikorsky by four and a quarter lengths.
“He's been very consistent, but he's had a lot of bad draws,” O'Shea said. “He stalled once today, but he's a seasoned pro so he was able to take advantage of that. He's a big horse and takes care of himself so he should live long enough.
“It's great for the Initforthesun syndicate. It's their first winner and they keep knocking on the door.”
It was a good night for the Syndicate. A second syndicate visited the Winners Enclosure when Poster Paint was unable to hold off all challengers in the Valley Handicap over 1800 meters of grass.
The 5-year-old horse, ridden by seamer jockey Sandro Paiva, scored his second win since February 2022, but was given good riding from the front and always kept second home First View at bay.
Poster Paint is owned by Sweet & Boot Racing in partnership with the Falcon Racing team, so Paiva was almost overwhelmed by well-wishers in the Winners Enclosure.
“He has improved a lot since the last race, and he did a good job at home, so I was looking forward to riding him today,'' the jockey said. “I wanted to send him in front, but there were some horses on the right putting pressure on me. I asked him again as we entered the straight and he answered well.”
It was Seamer's fourth outing as Arabian Tail showed guts to take his first win at Meydan in the Dubai Hills Estate Handicap over 1900m of dirt.
The five-year-old was just making his fifth start and had a tough time holding off Saqqara King, who again came close, although he was a little loose in the final furlong.
“He's a bit of an enigma and just does a lot of work at home,” said O'Shea of the treble winner. “His first run on dirt he was third behind Nevershaw Weakness and went on to win the next two.
“He is kept by lovely people, the Chopra family, and it was really nice to have him here tonight because he wasn’t able to come to Abu Dhabi last time. Arabian Tail will probably end after this season, so next year. We have some great horses to look forward to.”
Seamer held on to win the penultimate Emaar South Handicap over 1400m on dirt, giving Elusive Terry an impressive fifth win as he improved to 2-2 overall.
The four-year-old, who won Jebel Ali's maiden in his last outing, was constantly on pace on jockey Pat Cosgrave's rail, but bravely refused to be overtaken by his closer in the straight, moving forward again to secure it. . He won Triple Venture by two lengths.
“One draw, second start, first time at Meydan…he was good,” said an impressed Cosgrave. “I thought he would race in the 300 meters, but then he kept running again. He's tough.
“I wouldn't be surprised if he's a very good horse and if he runs a mile he'll get even better. I think he'll continue to develop and be able to break out of his handicap at some point and I think he has There are no flaws.”
Reflecting on a great night, Seamer added: “We came here with some good horses that have a chance, but everything has to go well. This was a huge team effort and the guys on the team did a great job, so I just accepts the prize.”
Botti celebrates another royal victory
First season trainer Lucia Botti was one of the talking points of the carnival as she celebrated her second win at Royal Dubai.
The colt's second win of the season owed much to the icy cool riding of Ben Cohen, who had nowhere to go at the front of the straight but fought his way through to beat King of Time by a wide margin.
“I’m really happy,” said Botti, who got his license just three months ago. “Not many horses have won twice this season, so I'm very proud. It was a very long straight for us watching!”
Botti has big plans for Royal Dubai, a Seahenge sire who was trained by Seamer and broke his virginity on the dirt at Meydan.
“I'm going to wait a few days to see if I get an invitation to the Godolphin Mile, but if not I'm going to take him home and come back next year.”
Vespasian, another of his second Carnival wins, fell back in the stride to 1200 meters in the Dubai Creek Harbor Handicap on grass.
The five-year-old horse, trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, had won over 1000m here two starts ago, but after charging in front with just over 400m to go, there was no sign of him being caught.
“I was really happy to cover him a little bit because he was riding better,” said winning rider Pat Dobbs. “He probably went 150 yards too far because he's been in front long enough. He's probably better at sixes (1200 meters) than fives (1000 meters).
“I think the better he races, the better he gets. I don't think it's going to be a problem for him to move up in grade.”
The most valuable race on the card was the AED300,000 Gr2 Mazrat Al Ruwaya, sponsored by Emaar, for purebred Arabians, held on grass for the first time.
Al Rais entered this race as a backup, but had his best performance here under jockey Cohen, heading home with a commanding lead that he never gave up. length.
It was trainer Ahmed Al Mekhairbi's 12th win of the season out of just 59 horses, and jockey Cohen's 26th win, saying: “He has improved throughout the season. I beat him, but it was a low grade race.
“He’s a better turf horse than dirt. He probably got to a furlong too early, but he got a little bit of a hand and won, so he’ll be an exciting horse for next season.” there is a possibility.”
The final race on the card, the Arabian Ranch Handicap over 1400m of turf, gave Michael Costa an important victory in his race to become champion trainer. The Australian's lead seemed to disappear thanks to Seamar's fifth time, but when Azidaet started on grass for the first time in his fourth start, he was once again one spot ahead.
Ridden by jockey Cohen, the 4-year-old horse won the triple crown, and although he was once clear and caught up to the rail, his victory at the final Jumeirah Bay by two lengths was well worth it.
Meydan will next open for the $30.5 million Dubai World Cup competition on Saturday, March 30th. .