Appleby Aiming For Consecutive Singspiels At Meydan

The AED850,000 1800-metre G2 Singspiel S. presented by Longines is the headliner among five stakes races on Meydan's nine-race Friday card.

Godolphin runs three from the Charlie Appleby yard, and the reinvigorated Ottoman Fleet (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is coming into the race off two consecutive seconds in the December's G2 Al Rashidia and January's G1 Jebel Hatta to stablemate Measured Time (GB) (Frankel {GB}). He is joined by multiple stakes winner Naval Power (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Highland Avenue (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

“Ottoman Fleet probably brings the most consistent form over the course and distance into what looks a competitive race,” said Appleby. “It was always the plan to come here following a strong run in the Jebel Hatta.”

“Naval Power had a few minor setbacks last year but has been training well. This looks a nice starting point to see where we are before taking him back to Europe.”

Jamie Osborne is enjoying a fruitful winter in the Middle East with his runners, and he sends out Sean (Ger) (Excelebration {Ire}) to improve one spot after a second to Warren Point (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G3 Dubai Millennium S. on Feb. 2.

“Sean has thrived during his stay in Dubai,” said Osborne. “I'm full of hope that we haven't yet seen the best of him. It's a very tough race and it will require a lifetime best, but I don't think it's impossible we will see one on Friday.”

 

Care To Dance?

Only seven fillies signed on to Friday's AED850,000 1800-metre G2 Balanchine Presented by Longines on grass, and Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby will saddle three of the septet. William Buick has elected to ride the four-for-five Sapphire Seas (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

A listed winner at Yarmouth in September, the daughter of Pure Diamond (GB) (Street Cry {Ire})'s only blip on an otherwise perfect resume was a fourth-place finish at first asking. Her paternal half-sister English Rose (Ire) has wins on both the grass and all-weather, but her unbeaten run was derailed with a runner-up performance to stablemate Silver Lady (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G2 Cape Verdi over 1600 metres on this course on Jan. 19.

“Sapphire Seas looks the filly they all have to beat,” Appleby, who has won the race five times commented. “She was a good winner of a listed race on her latest start. It's her first appearance of the year but this will hopefully be a springboard to a nice European campaign. English Rose has definitely come forward since the Cape Verdi and I feel that she will appreciate racing over nine furlongs.”

Hugo Palmer trainee Stenton Glider (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) will aim to improve two spots after running third in the Cape Verdi. Runner-up in a pair of group races earlier in her career, the 4-year-old leaves from gate three with Jim Crowley at the controls.

“We were very pleased with the run of Stenton Glider in the Cape Verdi,” said the Classic-winning trainer. “It was her first run since August, after the first real break she had in her life. The Cape Verdi and the Balanchine were always the plan when we came to Dubai.”

 

Oaks Laurels & Derby Pointer In The Offing

The central pillar of the AED700,000 G3 UAE Oaks on Friday is the two-for-two Manama Gold (Star Guitar). After a trial at Meydan in November, she trotted out a 2 1/2-length winner of the Storm Coaster conditions race in December, prior to a 9 1/4-length tour-de-force in the Cocoa Beach S. over 1600 metres on Jan. 19. Named a 'TDN Rising Star' that day, the Victorious runner towers over her rivals in this 1900-metre affair for trainer Fawzi Nass.

“She's very exciting,” said jockey Adrie de Vries. “She's still improving and developing and came out of her last race really good. She's got a long stride and she's very relaxed, so I'm not concerned about [the distance] at all.”

The rest of the field has already been defeated by the golden chestnut at least once, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum's Mizzyaan (Justify) was fourth in that January contest, her only start to date. However, if she continues to progress in the manner of her famous Triple Crown-winning sire, she could be a danger.

Classic-bound males get their chance in the Listed Al Bastakiya Presented by Longines, a prep for the G2 UAE Derby on Dubai World Cup night at the end of March. Bhupat Seemar trainee Falcon Of Arabia (Speightstown) is aiming to protect his perfect record in the 1900-metre test over the Meydan dirt, but a pair of South American colts could make his life difficult. Haras Bage Do Sul's Quartier (Uru) (Matterhorn) has won half of his eight starts and was third in the G2 UAE 2000 Guineas, two better that the re-opposing Oasis Boy (Arg) (Asiatic Boy {Arg}) in fifth in January.

 

A Chance At History?

No horse has ever won the AED700,000 2810-metre G3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy Presented by Longines more than once, and on Friday, Godolphin's Siskany (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is aiming to be the first from a rail draw. He won the Listed Al Khail Trophy over this trip on Jan. 26.

“Siskany came out of the Al Khail Trophy well and his record around Meydan speaks for itself,” said Appleby of last year's G2 Dubai Gold Cup second. “We are hoping that he can produce another strong performance and book his ticket for the Dubai Gold Cup.”

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‘We Can’t Quite Believe Our Luck’: Jamie Osborne on a Memorable 24 Hours in the Gulf

“Some people looked at me like I'd lost my marbles,” admits Jamie Osborne. The trainer is back in rainy Lambourn following a couple of glorious days under the Middle Eastern sun. The potential moment of madness to which he refers came last October when he bid 160,000gns for the then-seven-year-old Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal). 

The gelding already had 32 runs under his belt and an impressive track record for Kevin Ryan, which included victory in the G2 Gimcrack S., backed up later by his win at five in the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup. He had also won the Listed Rous S. a couple of weeks before heading to the Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale, so he was clearly still a competitive animal but one would naturally start to wonder, as he embarked on his eight-year-old campaign, about the general wear and tear that might come with being in training all those seasons. 

That old fighting spirit was still very much in evidence, however, as Emaraaty Ana held on gamely to win Saturday's Dukhan Sprint on Saturday, a local Group 3 in Qatar worth just shy of £180,000 to the winner. His success was a rather large cherry on top of a fine 24 hours for the Osborne stable which began not that far away in Dubai with the second victory this winter at Meydan for another eight-year-old, Ouzo (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}). Both horses were ridden by the trainer's daughter, Saffie, who notched a notable landmark in becoming the first woman to ride a winner at Meydan. 

“We can't quite believe our luck,” says Osborne. “It's nice when plans come off because most of them don't.”

He adds of Emaraaty Ana, “Buying a horse like that, you could potentially make yourself look stupid. I mean, I'm very fortunate that Ian and Claire Barratt have given me a bit of a budget to entertain them with and I felt that, at the money, he made sense as long as we could maintain him. And look, it's easy after the event, but I did say to them that he had the potential to win his purchase price back in Doha in February.”

Job done then, and we could see Emaraaty Ana back at Meydan next month. 

“We're hoping he's going to get an invitation for the Al Quoz,” Osborne says. “Obviously he's going to have to up his game to compete in that, I still think there's a chance that he can improve again.

“Barratt Racing have given me the opportunity to actually spend a bit more money than I've had to spend in the past to give them some fun. Now, how do you spend it? What they're about is going to nice places and competing at a decent level. So if you spend your budget on yearlings, the odds are you'll be disappointed. If you are looking for higher-rated younger horses to go and do these nice international races, well sadly our budget didn't stretch that far.

“In doing this, we have to accept that we've been buying horses that clearly other people feel their best days are behind them. And they are probably right, but hopefully we can maintain them for a year or two to give the Barretts the fun that they would like.”

He continues, “I know some people looked at me like I'd lost my marbles by giving 160,000 for a seven-year-old, but if you think about it, there's so many £160,000 yearlings out there and not many of them are going to end up being rated 110. And, yes, you've got a different journey, you've got a huge amount of hope and excitement with those horses that they could have a successful career, but the reality is most of them don't.

“We're abandoning that hope that we're buying a champion and exchanging it really for a bit of reality. We accept that we're not buying a champion, but we're buying good horses. And as long as we can manage them, and keep them sound, and keep them wanting to do it, then there is some instant fun available with them.”

Osborne admits to having found the Horses-in-Training Sale frustrating last year as he regularly played the role of underbidder, and he points to how the expansion of the racing programme in the Gulf has driven prices up.

“If you just value them as a function of how much prize-money they can win around the world, it makes sense when you see what horses are going to race for in Saudi this weekend, and what they've been racing for in Qatar, what they can race for in Dubai. It's not a surprise that they're expensive,” he says. 

“All the horses that we've got out there have come from very good trainers who have done very well with them: Kevin Ryan, Solid Stone came from Sir Michael Stoute, Ouzo came from Richard Hannon, we've got a nice horse called Sean out there that runs on Friday in the Singspiel Stakes. He came out of Germany, and he's been very well looked after and very well trained, he's seven. 

“We're just probably doing things with them that the previous owners and trainers weren't really wanting to do. We've got the same horse, but if you just campaign them differently, you can find almost a new lease of life for them to compete. These are not English Group 1 races. A British Group race I think is the hardest race to win. So while some of these horses are competing in Middle Eastern Group races, they may well not compete in the British ones, but if we look after them and campaign them very much with a return to the Middle East in mind for next year, there's no reason why we can't go overseas.”

Ouzo is owned by The Other Club, a syndicate which comprises Osborne's wife, the artist Katie O'Sullivan, and a group of her friends.

“He's been a bit of a revelation, really, and I'm still unsure why,” Osborne says. “We failed to win with him for two years and he was running very consistently, getting placed in some very good races, and I was very worried about taking him to Dubai off 98, but he's found another leg since we've been out there this year. Maybe the extra little bit of trip has helped.

“There's one thing for certain, he isn't going to win the Hunt Cup now. He plied his trade around that 95 mark for two years, being slightly a victim of his own consistency, and now he's gone and won off 102, so it's fantastic for his owners who have enjoyed him immensely in spite of not winning for a couple of years, and now he's won three on the trot.”

He adds of the ownership group, “They certainly enjoy themselves wherever they go. I'd said to them before his first start, 'If you're only going to come out [to Dubai] once, come for his second start.” So obviously when he won first time, I thought I'd completely messed it up.”

He adds, “We'll get his little bag packed and bring him back here. He's still in the Lincoln off 98 plus a penalty. I wouldn't completely rule that out, but we'll just see how he comes back.”

Osborne's biggest win in Dubai came a decade ago when Toast Of New York won the G2 UAE Derby. He ended that same season by being beating just a nose in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Now 13, the son of Thewayyouare has an active life as a riding horse with the family of  Osborne's right-hand man and fellow former jump jockey Jimmy McCarthy, who is overseeing the trainer's horses in Dubai.

Despite enjoying multiple top-level successes in his own career over jumps, Osborne admits to being a bit of a fair-weather racing man, making the Middle East at this time of the year an appealing prospect beyond just the prize-money on offer.

He says, “One of the downsides of being a jump jockey was that it happened in the winter. I suppose, to a degree, I've driven this concept motivated by my hatred for the British winter, but thankfully I've got owners that enjoy it too.”

Saffie Osborne is doubtless enjoying it too, especially as she had to curtail her season last November when seeking treatment for torn ligaments in her knee. It was still her best year to date, with 70 winners on the board and a first Group success in the Valiant S. aboard Random Harvest (Ire) (War Front). And before you start thinking she's a nepo baby, it's worth reading what her father has to say about her. 

“She's been a liability most of her life but it finally looks like she's turning into an asset,” he says, though even down the phone it's easy to detect the smile on his face. 

“She's had a tough few months. I'm not totally certain that if we hadn't had the nice horses in the Middle East that she would be back yet. But she worked very hard to get back and did what she had to do with her knee, and hopefully it'll keep improving as the year goes on, but she does have damage in there. 

“Obviously, for Katie and me, doing what we're doing with her on board just makes it extra special.”

He continues, “There was a time when she was riding, she rode Alignak at Meydan for us a couple of years ago, and I was happy with her riding the horse, but she was just proficient. Now, I would say, without being biased, which is a difficult thing not to be, I think I would rather have her on the horses than anyone else now, from a professional point of view, and regardless of the pleasure that I get from seeing her riding for us. She's got the hang of it now.

“She's not afraid to get beat on a horse, which sounds stupid, but I think that's a very important thing that a jockey must have. The route she took on Ouzo, that could have ended up as a real hard-luck story, but if she'd come around them, she wasn't going to win. So you've got to be prepared to take that chance and sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't, but she has the confidence to take that calculated risk. And maybe it stems from the fact that as her mother owns it and her father trains it, she knows she's not going to get jocked off. 

“But on the other hand, I'm trying to regrow this business at the moment, I don't have enough horses. I would like to grow both sides of the business, both here and a travelling team for the Middle East for next winter, and if I thought her involvement was in any way going to be detrimental to the growth of this business, well I'm afraid nepotism would go out the window. I'm not going to employ her at the expense of the business. 

He adds, “She's extremely driven and I think there's a chance that Saffie can really make it and she's almost certainly going to grow out of me, I hope. In which case, I'll just have to stand in line with everyone else.”

The next big test for Saffie Osborne comes on Friday in Riyadh, where she is one of 14 jockeys to have been called up for the Saudi Cup International Jockeys' Challenge. Ryan Moore is also in the line-up, as is Australia's Damien Oliver, who is making a brief comeback from his recent official retirement. 

With a line that only a father could get away with, Osborne says of his daughter's participation, “That's a big step for a little girl.

“I think if she'd been involved in that competition last year, you'd be living in fear that she's going to be outwitted or out-jockeyed by that class of a rider that she's going to be competing against, but now I don't think that's a concern. I think that rule number one if you're going to be a good jockey is you've got to know how fast you're going and it seems that she's innately got that now. I'll be in Dubai watching with interest.”

 

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Where The Real World Begins, As Baker’s Dozen Clash In Zabeel Mile

The Dubai Racing Carnival continues at Meydan on Friday, with a pair of group races on tap for the turf milers and main-track sprinters, with the G2 Zabeel Mile the highlight of the nine-race card.

Godolphin's Real World (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) is the clear standout on ratings, and won this contest in 2022 before placing second in both the G1 Lockinge S. and G1 Queen Anne S. back on UK soil for trainer Saeed bin Suroor. Now seven, the gelding is aiming at a return to form after running a too-keen fifth in the G2 Al Rashidiya to fellow royal blue colourbearer Measured Time (GB) (Frankel {GB}) locally on Dec. 22.

“Real World won this contest a couple of years ago and ran two excellent races over a mile in Europe the same season,” trainer Saeed Bin Suroor said. “He has been running over further since but should appreciate the drop back in trip. It looks as though he has improved for his run in the Al Rashidiya.”

A former steady fixture in Italian group company, G3 Premio Ambrosiano hero Sean (Ger) (Excelebration {Ire}) now races in the Barratt Racing silks and will make the Godolphin runner's task more difficult.

“It's his first run for us so this is a bit of a fact-finding mission,” said Jamie Osborne, whose multiple Dubai successes include Toast Of New York in the G2 UAE Derby. “It's possible he will need further on this track.”

American ex-pat Doug Watson will saddle the Classic-placed San Donato (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum and he has drawn widest in stall 13. The multiple listed winner ran second in the Listed Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup at Abu Dhabi on Dec. 3.

“It's a bit tough from out there but it's a great race for him, albeit Real World is in there and Marbaan for Michael Costa,” said Watson. “I'm looking forward to seeing how he finishes. Hopefully he can get some nice splits from off the pace.”

The race is further enhanced by the presence of G2 Vintage S. hero Marbaan (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) for Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum and trainer Charlie Fellowes.

Sprinters Primed For Dubawi Stakes

In the G3 Dubawi S., one race earlier on the card, Watson will saddle both Sound Money (Flatter) and Colour Up (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}). The former won the G3 Mahab Al Shimaal on Super Saturday last March and was unplaced in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on Dubai World Cup night, while the latter, a dirt-loving son of Mehmas, earned his first listed badge in the Al Garhoud Sprint last out on Dec. 8.

“Both Sound Money and Colour Up are in really good shape,” said Watson. “The draws are good for both of them; they're horses who don't need to go to the lead; they can settle off it. Colour Up has to step up a bit, with Mouheeb (Flatter) and Tuz (Oxbow) and Sound Money in there, so it will be interesting to see how he goes. I'm really happy with Sound Money and looking forward to getting him started.”

Successful in the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas at three and the Listed Al Garhoud Sprint over Group 3 winner Tuz at four in 2022, Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Mouheeb went winless in 2023.

“He's had a kind first half of season with the aim of heading towards 8f [1600metres] later on,” said trainer Michael Costa of Mouheeb. “He's a much more relaxed horse this year.”

Another Mahab Al Shimaal hero alongside Sound Money, Eastern World (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) will attempt to bounce back to form after making just one start in 2023–a 12th place to Tuz in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint in February.

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Racing League Team Managers Announced Ahead of Jockey Draft

The seven team managers for this year's Racing League were announced on Tuesday just days ahead of the jockey draft, which is set for Saturday, Apr. 1 at Doncaster.

Frankie Dettori was added to the roster of seven managers attempting to win this year's competition and leads a strong East team which will be one of the favourites to wrestle the title from last year's winners, Jamie Osborne's Wales & The West.

“Racing League brings something different into racing and I've really enjoyed being part of it for the last two years,” Dettori said. “The format adds a fun element while still being ultra-competitive. I will be doing everything I can to be the first player-manager to win it.”

Over £2m in prize-money will be up for grabs, with an additional £50,000 for the winning team, a £35,000 prize pool for the winning team's jockeys and £20,000 to the jockey who scores the most individual points over the competition. Among the 108 riders to have signed up for the draft are last year's leading jockeys Saffie Osborne and Sean Levey, with Oisin Murphy a noteworthy addition. Each team manager will select seven jockeys via the draft and may add a wildcard selection at any time during the competition.

A total of 135 yards have registered to compete, up from 125 in 2022. Among those set to have their first Racing League runners this year are Sir Michael Stoute, joining Frankie's ranks in The East; Michael & David Easterby extending their family ties in Yorkshire and Hughie Morrison adding strength to Scotland.

The seven team managers are:
• Ireland–Kevin Blake
• London & The South–Matt Chapman
• Scotland–Linda Perratt
• The East–Frankie Dettori
• The North–Mick Quinn
• Wales & The West–Jamie Osborne
• Yorkshire–Leonna Mayor

Racing League kicks at Yarmouth on July 27 and continues at Chepstow, Windsor, Newcastle and Wolverhampton before concluding at Southwell on Sept. 13. All six fixtures will be shown live on ITV Racing and Sky Sports Racing.

The complete list of team trainers can be found here.

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