Godolphin's Manobo (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) stamped himself a stayer for the future with a victory in the G2 Prix Chaudenay at ParisLongchamp in October, and the progressive 4-year-old reaffirmed that position with a stirring 5 1/2-length victory on seasonal return in Friday's G3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy at Meydan to remain unbeaten in five starts.
Making his debut at Newbury last May, Manobo headed Mojo Star (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) just two weeks before that one went on to finish second to Adayar (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Derby. Manobo took a more conservative route, plundering a Kempton novice race before venturing to France to take the Listed Prix Turenne by 10 lengths prior to his Chaudenay run.
Manobo hit the finish line first time around on Friday a half-length to the good in a race where no one was keen to take up the running, but by the time they raced into the first bend he had taken a lead from Taqareer (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) despite giving a few shakes of his head as William Buick attempted to restrain him. Settling into a rhythm down the backstretch as Taqareer stole a wide early advantage, Manobo began to effortlessly cut into that lead rounding the final turn. Arriving at Taqareer's shoulder as they straightened, Manobo surged into the lead when given a shake of the reins and was never threatened thereafter, winning by an eased-down 5 1/2 lengths from Ian Williams's East Asia (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}). Trainer Charlie Appleby noted post-race that the G2 Dubai Gold Cup was the likely target for Manobo on the Dubai World Cup card on Mar. 26, but that he could deputise for Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in the event that anything were to go amiss with his GI Breeders' Cup Turf-winning stablemate in the ensuing weeks.
Pedigree Notes
Manobo is the second living foal and first stakes winner out of Tasaday (Nayef), who won three times at the group level and was twice Group 1 placed in France for Andre Fabre before joining Saeed bin Suroor and winning listed stakes at Meydan and York, and finishing third in the 2014 G1 Yorkshire Oaks. Her first foal was Turgenev (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who finished second in the G2 Celebration Mile. Tasaday, who is out of the dual Group 3-winning Tashelka (Fr) (Mujahid) and a half-sister to the G3 Desmond S. winner Tribal Beat (Ire) (Street Cry {Ire}), has an as-yet unnamed 2-year-old colt by New Approach (Ire). It is also the family of South Africa's champion older horse Whisky Baron (Aus) (Manhattan Rain {Aus}).
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