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Stage Set For Inaugural Dubai Breeze-Up Sale

DUBAI, UAE–The interesting thing about talking to trainers from different parts of the world is that one man's gallop is another man's breeze, or indeed another woman's canter. Even within the specialised sector of the breeze-up sales, a Donny breezer may set a different pace to a Guineas breezer, often deliberately so, and for the inaugural Dubai Breeze-up Sale the focus is more on letting the 2-year-olds stretch out and show their moves over the two furlongs rather than rousting them along at a searing pace.

Not one for the clock-watchers, then, but that's no bad thing, and the 69 horses set to sell on Wednesday evening at Meydan racecourse weren't exactly hanging around as they skipped across the dark Tapeta all-weather surface of the Meydan training track.

As we have come to expect from this seasoned band of breeze-up vendors from Ireland and Britain, an impressive array of young bloodstock was on show on Tuesday morning. The consignors flitted to and fro, some looking a little more pensive than others, but they will have been heartened by the group of potential buyers perched trackside on steps and benches to witness this inaugural venture laid on by the Dubai Racing Club in association with Goffs. Among them was Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, proudly supporting a baseball cap with the name of his dual Group 1 winner Perfect Power (Ire), who is a shining example amid the breeze-up graduates of 2021. Sitting alongside the sheikh was Richard Brown, the man who bought not only Perfect Power but also his sire Ardad (Ire), another classy breezer, both from their breeder Tally-Ho Stud.

The man in the driving seat for much of the project has been Goffs' Tom Taaffe, who not so long ago could have been found around this time of year sending strapping steeplechasers to Cheltenham. The former trainer appears to have a pretty breezy attitude to life in general, and he must have drawn some satisfaction watching on as the canters, gallops – call them what you will – were conducted without incident.

Up on the balcony of the track's watch tower was 'the voice' of Goffs, group chief executive Henry Beeby, who must have felt almost at home, as if he was on his elevated rostrum in Ireland, only this time a little warmer and brighter. To Beeby's mellifluous backing track the 2-year-olds appeared one by one, around the turn and down the straight, cantering off into the distance with the vast Meydan grandstand as a backdrop. On Wednesday evening they will be auctioned off in its shadow, with the business end of the sale taking place in the Meydan winner's enclosure – a place to which many of their eventual buyers will no doubt hope to return one day.

“It went like clockwork,” said Beeby after the breeze show. “As a group the horses breezed exceptionally well. I think the breeze-up vendors have really risen to the challenge and given us a lovely bunch of horses. It's a new venture and they have taken a chance but the conditions that the Dubai Racing Club has put in place have given them confidence.”

The general consensus among those who put their money into finding horses to bring to Dubai at last year's yearling sales is that the operation has run smoothly so far, with plenty of vendors having reported being very busy through the viewing sessions. Time will tell if that interest turns into a decent return for them on this first date in the 2-year-old sales calendar, but present indications are encouraging.

Mickey Cleere of MC Thoroughbreds was the guinea pig, both as consignor and rider, when breezing lot 1, his colt by Gun Runner, the stallion who was runner-up to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup five years ago. The bay colt is out of the 10-time winner Bank Audit (Wild Rush), whose victories include two at Grade II level.

“We're absolutely delighted to be here and to be a part of this sale,” said Cleere, who has three juveniles catalogued, including the only one by America's champion sire Into Mischief. “The horses travelled over great, the facilities are top class and all the right people seem to be here looking. I think it should be a success looking at the quality of horses here. There seem to be a lot of people with very nice horses, and we think we have nice horses too. The three of them are very different but they are nice and by the right sires with decent pedigrees.”

Cleere's fellow breeze riders included an accomplished gang of Irish jockeys, featuring Gary Halpin, Pat Dobbs, Andrew Slattery and Rory Cleary, while Louis Steward, who is set to ride Volcanic Sky (GB) for Saeed Bin Suroor in Saturday's Dubai Gold Cup, also took to the saddle. And for National Hunt fans of a certain vintage, there was the chance to see Norman Williamson gather up his reins again aboard two horses to be sold under his Oak Tree Farm banner. For all his success at Cheltenham and beyond, Williamson is just as well known in these circles as the vendor of War Of Will (War Front) and last season's European champion 2-year-old, Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Among his offerings in Dubai is a French-bred colt who will become the first son of Godolphin's Group 1 winner Cloth Of Stars (Ire) to be offered at a breeze-up sale. Slated as lot 29, he looked very professional in his breeze on Tuesday morning and hails from a family deep in European black type, his dam Mediteranea (Fr) being a Smart Strike half-sister to the Group/Grade 1 winner and young sire Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) as well as Listed winner Marie De Medici (Medicean {GB}).

American-sired juveniles outnumber their European counterparts in the catalogue, which intriguingly also includes a colt by Shadai stallion Daiwa Major (Jpn) out of the former champion filly Peeping Fawn (Danehill), who owns a pedigree to match her sparkling race record. A three-parts-brother to the Chesham S. winner and G1 Moyglare S. runner-up September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), he is consigned by Willie Browne's Mocklershill as lot 31.

Looking ahead to Wednesday'a main event, Henry Beeby added, “We're very hopeful. With a new venture you never know but I think the conditions we find ourselves in now, with quality horses, the interest pre-sale and at the breeze-up, it's looking in good shape.

“We are very grateful to Sheikh Rashid at the Dubai Racing Club for appointing us. It was a big vote of confidence in Goffs and we appreciate it.”

Uniquely for a Thoroughbred auction, all buyers have to pre-register and, in the style of fine art auctions, will be issued with a paddle with which to bid. The sale is set to commence at 5pm local time. At the time of writing, there have been three withdrawals (lots 7, 35 and 58). For the full catalogue and to view the breeze-up videos, please click here.

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Business And Pleasure As Dubai Bounces Back

DUBAI, UAE–After an abandoned meeting in 2020 and a behind-closed-doors reprisal 12 months ago, the Dubai Racing Club will be itching to stage a back-to-normal Dubai World Cup on Saturday with an international cast of stars.

In fact, the week's activities are not quite as they would usually be as the race programme is enhanced by the inclusion of the first Dubai Breeze-up Sale at Meydan on Wednesday, hosted in association with Goffs. The 69 juveniles catalogued shipped in to Dubai last week with quite the fanfare, as branded horseboxes were filmed transporting the youngsters from the airport to Meydan's quarantine facility, where they have been familiarising themselves with their new surroundings over the last few days.

It may be the first sale of its kind in the Gulf, with a strong emphasis on American-bred horses – 37 of the 69 in the book bear the USA suffix – but there's a decidedly Irish feel to the consignor list, with all the major vendors one would expect to find at the European breeze-up sales. The background to the sale was explored in some depth by Nancy Sexton in a recent TDN feature and the final touches to the preparations were made in Monday morning's practice breeze in front of plenty of onlookers. Dress rehearsals over, come Tuesday at 7.45am the horses will step out in earnest. They will not, however, be pushed out in an attempt to clock a fast time, as is the norm at these sales whether or not they include official timing, but will instead be asked to perform a gentle two-furlong breeze.

As the sale co-ordinator Tom Taaffe of Goffs told TDN recently, “It's early in the year and a lot of these horses won't be running until November at the earliest. They'll have to be let down afterwards and acclimatise for a few months before going into pre-training. So there'll be no timing and no stride-pattern figures, it'll be all about allowing prospective purchasers to see that the horses can move well.”

Sounds very refreshing, especially with the mercury on the climb into the low 30s in Dubai.

And so to the main action: the 26th running of the $12 million Dubai World Cup. As has routinely been the case, first at Nad Al Sheba, now at Meydan, the race does have a properly global feel to it, with runners from the UAE being joined by rivals from America, Uruguay, Japan and France, with perhaps the most multi-national of them all being Grocer Jack, a German-bred, Saudi-owned 5-year-old trained in Britain.

Arguably the starriest in the line-up is the sensational Breeders' Cup Mile winner Life Is Good (Into Mischief). Since his near-exhibition round at Del Mar, the 4-year-old went on to trounce the Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go (Paynter) in the latter's swansong in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Life Is Good has looked a picture of composure under his English-born work rider Amelia Green in his easy exercises at Meydan in the countdown to Saturday. His trainer Todd Pletcher is set to arrive in Dubai on Tuesday and bids to become the tenth American-based trainer to lift the Dubai World Cup.

An American challenge with strength in depth is completed by Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), the winner of his only previous start at Meydan last month, dual Grade I-placed Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), and the recent G1 Saudi Cup runner-up and enemy of the spell-checker, Country Grammer (Tonalist).

The recent Saudi Cup drew a similarly international line-up and, despite the pride of the event's organisers at having been backed by some of the biggest names in world racing, it was nothing compared to the delirium of the local crowd when the race was won by the Riyadh-trained Emblem Road (Quality Road) to give a major lift to the Mitab Almulawah stable.

No doubt similar scenes would unfold at Meydan if Bhupat Seemar, who is set to become champion trainer in his first year with a licence at Zabeel Stables, could set the seal on a truly memorable season by winning the big one with Remorse (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

“I'm very fortunate to be in this position, and in my first season it's great that we have a runner in the World Cup itself,” said Seemar, who took over from his uncle, Satish, in November.

“You've got to be realistic. You're going in the world's biggest race with some of the top dirt horses in the world. Yes, we've improved from 80 to 111 but strange things do happen in races; the pace could collapse or something could happen. Remorse is such an honest horse and so far all he's done is improve, so hopefully we can keep him healthy for the race and get a good draw.”

Another hero of the most recent Breeders' Cup at Del Mar, Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), returns to action for the first time since his triumph in the Turf and leads a team of five runners on the night from the Charlie Appleby stable. The quintet includes the recent G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint winner Man Of Promise (Into Mischief), one of three for the trainer in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint.

As progressive as Yibir was last season, he will face no easy task in a G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic line-up which features a fierce challenge from Japan, notably Authority (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), recent winner of the Neom Turf Cup in Riyadh, dual Hong Kong Vase winner Glory Vase (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), and last year's Japanese Derby and Oaks winners, Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Uberleben (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn}). These are just four of a 23-strong raiding party, the largest ever from Japan, as outlined recently in these pages.

Two years ago, with just six days to go to the Dubai World Cup, the event was cancelled along with all major sporting events as the Covid pandemic took its toll. The strict mask rules that remain in place locally are a reminder of those grim times, and the fact that the coronavirus is still a threat, but the world is pushing on with both business and pleasure, and in Dubai this week the racing world is able to gather once more to indulge in a spot of both.

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Saturday’s Previews: Super Saturday At Meydan

Glitters To Shine On Super Saturday

Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) may be a former G1 Queen Anne S. winner, but at age nine he has revamped himself as a Middle Eastern star, and he lines up as one of the highlight horses of Super Saturday in the G1 Jebel Hatta S. It has been almost three years since the grey visited a winner's enclosure in Europe, but in the meantime Lord Glitters has won four black-type races in the Gulf region, including last year's edition of this race, the G3 Bahrain International Trophy in November and the G2 Singspiel S. on Feb. 11.

The horse who finished second to Lord Glitters in the Bahrain International Trophy was another Royal Ascot Group 1 veteran, Charlie Appleby's 8-year-old Barney Roy (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}). Gelded and sent to Charlie Appleby after proving infertile, Barney Roy won this race two years ago before adding a pair of German Group 1s in the summer of 2020. He has something to prove, however, having run just twice at the back end of last season, and it could be meaningful that William Buick instead rides the same stable's Zakouski (GB) (Shamardal), who won the Listed Marshall S. at Newmarket at the end of October and was third behind Lord Glitters in the Singspiel. Zakouski also won the G2 Al Rashidiya S. over this course and distance last carnival.

Different O'Neill, Same Result in Round 3?

The $450,000 G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 is missing Grade I winner and G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), who is bound directly for the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup on Mar. 26, but 15 horses still line up in this traditional pointer to that 2000-metre main-track affair. In the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2, the Doug O'Neill-trained 4-year-old blitzed the field by 5 1/4 lengths, and the third- and fourth-place finishers that day, Everfast (Take Charge Indy) and For The Top (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg}), return over an additional 100 metres.

O'Neill does send his 'B Team' in on Saturday, as the 6-year-old gelding Appreciated (Acclamation), a veteran of the American circuit, hopes to build off of his narrow track-and-trip win in the Listed Curlin S. on Feb. 11.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's Hypothetical (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) will aim to go one better after finishing 1 3/4 lengths behind Salute The Soldier (Ger) (Sepoy {Aus}) in the 2021 edition, while last year's third-place finisher Roman Rosso (Arg) (Roman Ruler) breaks from gate 11. Fourth in the Dubai World Cup last year, Hypothetical was unplaced in the Jan. 14 G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1. In charge from the front when wheeled back in the one-mile G3 Firebreak S. on Feb. 4, the result was much different, with the 5-year-old entire delivering a 3 1/4-length win.

Dubai City of Gold Hukum's El Dorado?

The 2410-metre G2 Dubai City Of Gold features a field of 14 led by the Owen Burrows-trained Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Prior to 2021, the Shadwell homebred was a Group 3 winner, however the full-brother to undefeated Group 1-winning miler Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) enjoyed his best season last year with a trio of Group 3 wins at 2400 metres or longer, and he was last seen in action with a 6 1/2-length victory in the Oct. 2 G3 Cumberland Lodge S. at Ascot. Saturday marks his first start outside the UK, and the bay breaks widest of all in gate 14 with Shadwell's retained jockey Jim Crowley in the irons.

It is not purely a one-horse show in the City of Gold, and Niels Petersen saddles Square De Luynes (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}), a seven-for-nine multiple Group 3 winner based in Sweden. He is aiming for his fourth-straight score after taking the Sept. 19 G3 Stockholm Cup International. Ex-Aidan O'Brien trainee Amhran Na Bhfiann (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is also making his first foray in the desert, and the G2 Curragh Cup winner will carry the colours of Mariano Commercial Ltd. and Partners after being knocked down for 78,000gns during the Tattersalls Autumn HIT Sale.

Simon and Ed Crisford's Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who races for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, enters on the back of a Newmarket listed victory, and the top Godolphin chance, Feb. 11 course-and-distance winner Global Storm (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), is signed on as well.

Group 1 Winners Face Off In Turf Sprint

The most intriguing race on the card is probably the G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint, where last-season Group 1 winners Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) and A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) face off against Meydan specialist Acklam Express (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and last-out course and distance listed winner Man Of Promise (Into Mischief).

Kevin Ryan's Emaraaty Ana and Ado McGuinnesses A Case Of You ran in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, behind Golden Pal (Uncle Mo). Emaraaty Ana, who won last year's G1 Sprint Cup S. over this six furlong trip, makes his first start since Del Mar, while A Case Of You returned a 3 1/2-length winner going six furlongs at Dundalk on Feb. 11. He won last year's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye going five furlongs.

Though he has never won at Meydan, Nigel Tinkler's Acklam Express has displayed a definite liking for the course; he finished second in last year's G2 Meydan Sprint and third in this race as well as the G1 Al Quoz Sprint. Off the board in two European starts last summer, he was second in the latest edition of the Meydan Sprint, renamed the Blue Point Sprint, on Feb. 18.

Watson Pair Loom Large In Burj Nahaar

The father/son training team of Simon and Ed Crisford send out three runners from their Dubai string on Super Saturday, and their best chance could be Algiers (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G3 Burj Nahaar going a mile on the dirt. The 5-year-old, who was twice Group 3 placed in France last summer, was a winner last out over that surface and distance in the G3 Jebel Ali Mile on Feb. 12.

Algiers will face stiff opposition, however, from the Doug Watson pair of Mubakker (Speightstown) and Golden Goal (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Shadwell's 6-year-old Mubakker goes the furthest he has in his career and comes into this off wins going six and seven furlongs on Dec. 9 and Jan. 28. Dale Brennan's 8-year-old Golden Goal was second in last year's G2 Godolphin Mile on World Cup night and won the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge R1 when last seen on Jan. 14, and will be tough returning to that course and distance.

Watson, perennially one of the most powerful local stables, also has a strong chance to close out the card with a win, with Al Tariq among the favourites for the G3 Mahab Al Shimaal going six furlongs on the dirt. The 6-year-old gelding won the G3 Dubawi S. over course and distance on Jan. 21 and was third last out in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint on Feb. 11.

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Dubai Breeze-Up Sale Catalogue Online

The catalogue for the inaugural Dubai Breeze-Up Sale in association with Goffs has been released. The sale will take place on Mar. 23, three days ahead of the Dubai World Cup, in the parade ring at Meydan and will feature 72 2-year-olds.

The sire profile for the sale includes American Pharoah, Arrogate, Curlin, Dark Angel (Ire), Dubawi (Ire), Exceed And Excel (Aus), Frankel (GB), Gun Runner, Into Mischief, Invincible Spirit (Ire), Justify, Kodiac (GB), Kingman (GB), Lope De Vega (Ire), Mehmas (Ire), More Than Ready, Night Of Thunder (Ire), Pioneerof the Nile, Showcasing (GB), Siyouni (Fr), Starspangledbanner (Aus), Uncle Mo, Wootton Bassett (GB) and more. The horses will be stabled at the Dubai Racing Club quarantine yard and the breeze will take place at the Meydan training track on Mar. 22.

Sheikh Rashid bin Dalmook Al Maktoum, chairman of the Dubai Racing Club, said, “Dubai has always pioneered new concepts across many fields in the region, under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. Horse racing has always been a part of the DNA of Dubai, which makes us proud to introduce the Dubai Breeze-Up Sale, the first of its kind in the region, offering a collection of outstandingly bred individuals, many of whom are by some of the world's leading stallions and are related to horses who thrived in this region. They are a strong bunch of young horses which we will have the pleasure of seeing in action during the breeze, taking place on our training track at Meydan days before the 26th edition of the Dubai World Cup.”

Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby added, “Together with the Dubai Racing Club, we are delighted to present a truly outstanding catalogue for the Dubai Breeze-Up Sale in association with Goffs. Breeze-up vendors embraced this sale with great enthusiasm from the outset and have worked with the Goffs selection team, led by Nick Nugent and Tom Taaffe, to assemble a superb group of 2-year-olds that will appeal to leading buyers in the Middle East and around the world.

We wish to express our thanks once more to Sheikh Rashid bin Dalmook Al Maktoum and everyone at the Dubai Racing Club for this great opportunity to partner on this sale. We are proud of the trust placed in the Goffs service and are delighted to have compiled a catalogue that more than befits the occasion.”

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