Aidan O'Brien outlined plans after several members of his team galloped Saturday, chief among them G1 Futurity Trophy winner Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), undefeated in three starts at two, and MGSW Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who was last seen finishing second in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National last September. Campaigned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Westerberg, the pair are likely to reappear in the Apr. 30 G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
“Luxembourg was in the first lot and everything went very well,” said O'Brien. “He did everything very nicely and he finished off nicely and Ryan [Moore] seemed very happy with him.”
Of his stablemate, he added, “I was very happy as well with Point Lonsdale. Seamus [Heffernan] said he relaxed and quickened nicely and you'd have to be very happy.”
“You'd have to see how they come out of it, but we're thinking of aiming both of them at Newmarket.”
Also included among the first grouping of gallopers were Star Of India (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Aikhal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
“I thought they could be Irish Guineas horses,” he said. “They won't go to Leopardstown for the Trial now, because it comes too quick. The two could go for the [May 21 G1] Irish Guineas or they could go to France for the [May 15 G1] French Guineas like [2021 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner] St Mark's Basilica and step up to a mile and a quarter after that.”
Heading the fillies Saturday was undefeated G1 Juddmonte Cheveley Park S. winner Tenebrism (Caravaggio).
“Tenebrism worked very well. Ryan was very happy with her. They went a strong seven [furlongs] and she came home very well. She will go straight for the [1000] Guineas [May 1].”
Tom Marquand will represent Ireland in Racing League 2022 having been the first pick at this morning's jockey draft at Doncaster Racecourse. A total of 108 jockeys signed up for the inaugural draft, with the seven team managers each selecting seven riders in a pre-agreed order to ensure a fair allocation.
Ireland team manager Kevin Blake said, “I am really happy. Six out of the seven were selections I thought I might get and the exception to that I am very happy with. It is a nice mix of British-based and Irish-based jockeys, with some of the top lads in Ireland keen to support the concept. Gavin Ryan and Dylan Browne McMonagle rode in the Racing League last year and were very keen to be involved again, as was Billy Lee. It will be great to get them over alongside the British-based jockeys headed by Tom Marquand, who was obviously the number one pick.”
Each region will have at least one Group 1-winning rider, with notable picks including Frankie Dettori for Wales and The West, Jamie Spencer for The North and last year's leading jockey Jack Mitchell for The East.
Added Rupert Bell, team manager for The East, “That was great fun to do. I am delighted as I got most of what I wanted. I kicked off with Jack Mitchell as he was the star of the show last year, helping team talkSPORT win. We have Hayley Turner, Grace McEntee and Luke Morris–some very reliable jockeys who will do our team proud.”
Of the eight races for Thoroughbreds on the $30.5-million Dubai World Cup night, five of them went to horses owned, bred, and trained in Japan. Granted, $5-million G1 Dubai Turf winner Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) had to share his victory with His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing's now-dual Turf hero Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), but that is cold comfort to other countries, who struggled to get near the winner's circle.
The night started out in much the same fashion as the Saudi Cup card in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 26 where Japan went four-for-six, with a Japanese victory, as Bathrat Leon (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) won the $1-million G2 Godolphin Mile, the second race on the card. Japan's G3 Longines Red Sea Turf H. victor Stay Foolish (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) used his Saudi prep as a springboard to G2 Dubai Gold Cup honours, and it was only in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint that the Japanese contingent drew a top-three blank, as A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) surged away to win by 1 1/4 lengths, putting Ireland on the board.
Back on dirt, Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}) punched his ticket for the GI Kentucky Derby with a 2 3/4-length score in the G2 UAE Derby. Red Le Zele (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), second in the 2021 G1 Golden Shaheen, once again completed the exacta in this year's version, as Speightstown ironhorse Switzerland belied his years for a cozy triumph. After Panthalassa's tie with Lord North, Authority (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), who had also taken a Group 3 in Riyadh on Saudi Cup day, charged around the course in front for much of the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, but as he gave way, countryman Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) took over to lift the evening's biggest turf prize, fending off GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) by a neck. Although the G1 Dubai World Cup went to Country Grammer (Tonalist), Japan still picked up some prizemoney, as the 2021 runner-up Chuwa Wizard (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) reported home third to cap a red-letter day for the island nation.
The Japanese have been aggressively upgrading their country's bloodstock from the highest tier of international racing and breeding prospects for several decades. They have now been well-rewarded on the world stage.
'Shah'king up the World Order
Already a winner of the G1 Japanese Derby, Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was one of five horses to represent his country in the $5-million G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic on Saturday. Just 2:26.88 seconds after the gates flew, he became the fourth Japanese winner of the 2410-metre turf showpiece and fifth individual scorer on the night for Japan, which has enjoyed some stellar performances around the world in the past few months. Stay Gold (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) landed the 2001 edition, and fellow top sire Heart's Cry (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) stamped his name on the trophy in 2006. The final former winner was international wondermare Gentildonna (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who accomplished that feat in 2014.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was only a neck back in second, a half-length to the good of the pacesetting Authority (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), who denied Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) by a short head.
Once the gates flew, Authority steamed up to take command, with Shahryar in that foe's slipstream and Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) sitting third. Pyledriver was also tucked in an ideal position hugging the fence a few lengths off of the leaders. For The Top (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg}) perched just off the inside behind the leader and Yibir raced dead last.
Freewheeling and in a relaxed rhythm on the front end, Authority entered the backstretch with the field well strung out behind him. For The Top kept Authority honest in the vanguard as the pack neared the final bend, and Burgas (Tur) (King David) launched a middle move, three deep.
A gap opened inside the final 500 metres, and pilot Cristian Demuro quickly gave Shahryar his cue. Poised to pounce with less than a quarter mile to travel, Shahryar let down strongly and began to eat into Authority's lead. Yibir, meanwhile, was winding up out in the centre of the course and what had appeared an impossible task, to get the boys in blue a winner on the night, suddenly seemed highly likely. Right as Shahryar grabbed the baton from Authority at the furlong grounds, the Godolphin runner unleashed a furious rally.
The Classic hero finally subdued a stubborn Authority and had enough left in the tank to just hold off an indomitable Yibir. It was very tight for third, with Pyledriver giving a good account of himself, but just losing out to the pacesetter.
Winning trainer Hideaki Fujiwara, who had saddled Vin De Garde (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) to a third-place finish in the G1 Dubai Turf one race earlier on the card, said, “This horse was a winner of the Tokyo Yushun, the Japanese Derby, and that is as good a race as we have in Japan. I was confident that he wasn't going to lose.
“It's very normal for him to get on his toes before he races so I wasn't too concerned and I had full faith in Cristian [Demuro] to handle the horse and take care of him during the race.”
Europe's greatest weight-for-age race, the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, at the beginning of October, is now the aim for the Sheema Classic scorer.
Added Fujiwara, “It would be a dream for me to take this horse to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. It is the race we want to win and it would mean so much to be able to take him there. That is our ambition and our aim.
“It has been a great night for Japan and a great night for our stable with a first and a third. I am so proud of our horses.”
Said Demuro, “Before the race, I knew I wanted to be behind Authority as I knew he would lead. We were able to get a nice position just behind him on the rail and when I pulled my horse out in the straight I knew he was going to win.
“For a moment he was a little lost in front, but we felt Yibir coming and I always believed we were going to get there.
“It is amazing to win a race like this. Amazing also to win on a Japanese horse. They are showing they are the best in the world.”
William Muir, trainer of Pyledriver, said, “He's run a great race, travelled powerfully but probably didn't get all the luck in running, but I can't complain. I'm delighted for the horse and the owners and I'm looking forward to the season ahead back home.”
“It was a super run and he didn't get the splits at the crucial moments, but I'm very happy with him,” said pilot Frankie Dettori of the 2021 G1 Coronation Cup hero.
Lightly raced, Shahryar was a debut winner in October of his 2-year-old year, and returned at three to take third in the G3 Kyodo News Hai (Tokinominoru Kinen) on Valentine's Day in 2021. The G3 Mainichi Hai went his way going 1800 metres on firm turf that March, and he bested eventual Japanese Horse of the Year Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) by a nose in the 2400-metre G1 Japanese Derby on May 30. Given a break, he returned to be fourth to Stella Veloce (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai at Chukyo on Sept. 26, and his final start prior to his Dubaian heroics was a third to Japanese Triple Crown Winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the Nov. 28 G1 Japan Cup.
Pedigree Notes
The legendary Deep Impact's influence is still front and centre in Japanese bloodlines, and the winner is one of 54 Group 1 winners from the late Shadai kingpin. Shahryar is the second winner of the race after his paternal half-sibling Gentildonna (Jpn), who scored in 2014. Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was third in 2021, and Last Impact (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) also filled that spot in the 2016 edition. Through Saturday, the son of GI Kentucky Derby hero Sunday Silence is responsible for 184 black-type winners, with 147 of them in group company.
Broodmare sire Essence of Dubai, best known as the winner of the GII Super Derby, GII Norfolk S. and the 2002 versions of the G2 UAE Derby and G3 UAE 2000 Guineas, has three black-type winners to his credit, as well as the graded-placed Unbridled Daddy (Scat Daddy).
Shahryar, one of five winners for his dam, is a full-brother to dual Group 1 winner and fellow Classic winner Al Ain (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who won the Japanese 2000 Guineas in 2017. The duo are out of the 2010 Eclipse Champion Female Sprinter Dubai Majesty (Essence of Dubai), who struck in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint that same year. She was knocked down for a cool $1.1 million to Katsumi Yoshida at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale and sent to Japan. The dam's latest foal is a yearling colt by Duramente (Jpn), and she was covered by Real Steel (Jpn) last spring.
Saturday, Meydan, Dubai LONGINES DUBAI SHEEMA CLASSIC-G1, $6,000,000, Meydan, 3-26, 3yo/up, 12f 11yT, 2:26.88, gd.
1–SHAHRYAR (JPN), 125, c, 4, by Deep Impact (Jpn) 1st Dam: Dubai Majesty (Ch. Female Sprinter-US, GISW-US, $1,509,243), by Essence of Dubai 2nd Dam: Great Majesty, by Great Above 3rd Dam: Mistic Majesty, by His Majesty
O-Sunday Racing Co Ltd; B-Northern Farm (JPN); T-Hideaki
Fujiwara; J-Cristian Demuro. $3,480,000. Lifetime Record:
GISW-Jpn, 7-4-0-2, $6,802,660. *Full to Al Ain (Jpn) (Deep
Impact {Jpn}), MG1SW-Jpn, $4,749,430. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*.
2–Yibir (GB), 125, g, 4, Dubawi (Ire)–Rumh (Ger), by Monsun
(Ger). O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charlie Appleby. $1,200,000.
3–Authority (Jpn), 126, h, 5, Orfevre (Jpn)–Rosalind (Jpn), by
Symboli Kris S. O-Silk Racing Co Ltd; B-Northern Farm (JPN);
T-Tetsuya Kimura. $600,000.
Margins: NK, HF, SHD.
Also Ran: Pyledriver (GB), Uberleben (Jpn), Alenquer (Fr), Hukum (Ire), Glory Vase (Jpn), Stella Veloce (Jpn), Dubai Honour (Ire), Dubai Future (GB), Without a Fight (Ire), Kaspar (Ger), Burgas (Tur), For the Top (Arg). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
In a race for the ages that three horses deserved to win, the brave pacesetter Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and defending champ Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) could not be separated and a dead-heat was eventually declared. A full eight minutes passed after a course-record smashing renewal of the $5-million G1 Dubai Turf before a stunned Meydan Racecourse audience knew which of the trio had emerged victorious in a desperately close finish.
Sparkling trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who was savoring his third win on the card, exclaimed, “We've had a lot of good luck today so we didn't think we'd lose! I've never known a wait like that in a photo finish.”
Then, the fast-finishing Vin De Garde (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was declared a hard luck third despite being well in front just past the wire. His disappointed jockey Mickael Barzalona said, “My horse ran a very good race. We were unlucky.”
As the the eventual winning pair circled the walking ring with their connections anxiously awaiting the judge's decision, racing pundits marveled over whether they had ever witnessed a more exciting race in World Cup night history.
Under jockey Yutaka Yoshida, Panthalassa, a Group 2-winning entire in his native Japan who had never ventured outside of his homeland, bagged the early lead, set demanding fractions and gave his all while racing closest to the far side rail.
A pleased Yoshida said, “It was a very good run from my horse and he did all that I asked of him and only just managed to hold on at the end.”
Flanked on both sides by his Japanese-trained revivals, Lord North, a 6-year-old gelding who had broken the Meydan course record in last year's renewal when beating Vin De Garde by three lengths, benefited from regular rider Frankie Dettori's patience and a well-timed bid.
Awaiting the verdict, Dettori said, “I thought I was beaten on the line so I will settle for a dead-heat if it's available. He had half the year off, he almost died last year so to get him back performing at this level, it is a credit to the team.”
The winners stopped the timer in 1:45.77 besting Lord North's mark of 1:46.46 for the 1800-metre distance.
A poised John Gosden, co-trainer with his son Thady of defending champion Lord North, said, “That's a very fair result as we got ourselves in a bit of a Japanese sandwich there and those horses are so tough. They've been buying horses for the last 30 years or so and their investment is paying dividends, they've come here and knocked us for six–they've gone and won four races now.”
He continued, “I'm thrilled with our boy. He's been off for a year with a very nasty throat infection and we've managed to get him back in time.”
The 4-year-old Newmarket-based filly Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), ridden by Hollie Doyle, finished best of the rest, 3 1/2 lengths behind the winners. Her satisfied trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam said, “She ran a great race. I'm really delighted. she's so tough and we'll have a lot of fun with her this year.”
If the race had a disappointment, it was the highly-regarded Japanese colt Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}), who crossed the line in eighth. His jockey Christophe Lemaire said, “He had a good trip in the middle. He didn't finish like I expected. He is better than that.”
The William Haggas-trained Mohaafeth (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) cost himself his chance when sluggish to begin. He ended up 10th in the field of 14.
The 2004 renewal of the race, then known as the Dubai Duty Free and contested at Nad Al Sheba, finished in a dead-heat between Paolini (Ger) (Lando {Ger}) and Right Approach (GB) (Machiavellian).
Pedigree Notes
The five-year-old horse Panthalassa was sired by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), a world-class sprinter who won 13 of his 19 races and is best known as the sire of G1 Hong Kong Sprint winner Danon Smash (Jpn) and the redoubtable champion Almond Eye (Jpn), a multiple Group 1 winner in Japan and Dubai. His dam is Miss Pemberley (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), who raced six times in Japan without winning. Five of her eight foals have won in Japan with Dimension (Jpn) and Etendard (Jpn), a pair of Deep Impact fillies, joining Panthalassa as Japanese black-type performers.
Lord North, a gelded son of Champion sire Dubawi, was bred by Godolphin in Ireland. Raced by HH Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing, his dam is Najoum (Giant's Causeway), a Kentucky-born Godolphin homebred, who won two of her four lifetime starts and showed promise as a 2-year-old winning a seven-furlong race on turf and an eight-furlong race on Polytrack. Najoum is a half-sister to GI Blue Grass S. winner and former Kentucky-based stallion Bandini (Fusaichi Pegasus). In addition to Lord North, Najoum has produced three other foals with the horse Chronicles (GB) (Street Cry {Ire}), winner of a 10-furlong Irish maiden race as a 3-year-old, being her only other winner.
Saturday, Meydan, Dubai DUBAI TURF SPONSORED BY DP WORLD-G1, $5,000,000, Meydan, 3-26, 3yo/up, 9fT, 1:45.77, gd.
(DH)-1–LORD NORTH (IRE), 126, g, 6, by Dubawi (Ire) 1st Dam: Najoum, by Giant's Causeway 2nd Dam: Divine Dixie, by Dixieland Band 3rd Dam: Hail Atlantis, by Seattle Slew
O-HH Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing; B-Godolphin (IRE);
T-John Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. $1,175,000. Lifetime Record:
G1SW-Eng, 15-8-4-1, $4,209,593. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
(DH)-1–PANTHALASSA (JPN), 126, h, 5, by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) 1st Dam: Miss Pemberley (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire) 2nd Dam: Stitching (Ire), by High Estate (Ire) 3rd Dam: Itching (Ire), by Thatching (Ire)
O-Hiroo Race Co Ltd; B-Pangloss Y K, Toshihiro Hirosaki et al
(JPN); T-Yoshito Yahagi; J-Yutaka Yoshida. $1,175,000. Lifetime
Record: GSW-Jpn, 20-6-4-0, $2,888,474. *1/2 to Etendard
(Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), GSP-Jpn, $770,677; and Dimension
(Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), MGSP-Jpn, $1,030,766. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
3–Vin de Garde (Jpn), 126, h, 6, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Skia (Fr), by
Motivator (GB). O-Shadai Race Horse Co Ltd; B-Shadai Farm
(JPN); T-Hideaki Fujiwara. $500,000.
Margins: DHT, NO, 3HF.
Also Ran: Saffron Beach (Ire), Sir Busker (Ire), My Oberon (Ire), Alfareeq (Ire), Schnell Meister (Ger), Colonel Liam, Mohaafeth (Ire), Ursa Minor (Ire), Haqeeqy (Ire), Desert Fire (Ire), Harrovian (GB). Scratched: Finest Sound (Ire), Lord Glitters (Fr). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree of Lord North or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree of Panthalassa.
