Salute the Soldier (Ger) | Horse Racing Free Tips

Salute the Soldier (Ger) (Sepoy {Aus}) found the added real estate of the 2000-metre G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 no problem and earned his first Group 1 win at Meydan in front-running style on Saturday evening.

The Fawzi Nass trainee scooted straight to the fence and battled with Tailor's Row (Street Cry {Ire}) and Roman Rosso (Arg) (Roman Ruler) into the clubhouse turn before shaking off those rivals to take command outright. Approaching the far bend, Tailor's Row called it a day and Roman Rosso was left to press the Victorious colourbearer as Hypothetical (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) stalked that pair just behind.

Salute the Soldier kept finding at the head of affairs inside the final quarter mile, with Hypothetical appearing to bring the strongest challenge, but the 6-year-old gelding held firm to the line to win by 1 3/4 lengths. Hypothetical was second three lengths in front of Roman Rosso. The margin back to Thegreatcollection (Saint Anddan) in fourth was 1 1/4 lengths. Salute the Solider is the second Group 1 winner for his sire Sepoy (Aus) (Elusive Quality).

“I expected the pace to be set from the outside, he jumped well, and the guys next to me didn't want it so I was happy to lead,” said jockey Adrie de Vries. “I got my own pace. He is just getting better, and he is so much fun. He is a great character, there is always something special about him. He didn't want to go to the start today, he has his tricks in the morning as well. I think he still has got a bit left in the tank, he continues to improve and I hope we have him spot on for the big day.”

Added Nass, “He showed us last year that he absolutely glides on the Meydan dirt, and distance wise he always showed he would stay a lot further. He was actually never built as a sprinter as you can see. Luckily it paid off going the extra couple of furlongs.

“When you have a horse that has already qualified for the Dubai World Cup, we did think why take a risk or running a race [Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3] where [we] could get beaten. But we thought about it and it is pretty long gap from his last race to Dubai World Cup day, and the horse is quite enthusiastic, and we thought why not run him today.”

Third in the Listed Dubai Duty Free Cup S. at Newbury in September of 2019 in the colours of Mr. and Mrs. P. Hargreaves and Alan Spence for trainer Clive Cox, the bay was knocked down for 380,000 guineas to Oliver St Lawrence Bloodstock later that fall at the Tattersalls Autumn HIT Sale. A winner of the 2020 G3 Burj Nahaar on Super Saturday last term for these connections, Salute the Soldier did not face the starter again until a fourth-place run in the Listed Dubai Creek Mile on Dec. 17. He reported home third in the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge R1 on Jan. 21 prior to his G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 score on Feb. 11.

Pedigree Notes

Salute the Soldier is the second top level winner after MG1SW Alizee (Aus) for his four-time Group 1-winning sire Sepoy. Originally a G1 Blue Diamond S. and G1 Golden Slipper winner who progressed to take the G1 Manikato S. and G1 Coolmore Stud S. at three, the son of Elusive Quality stood under the Darley banner in both hemispheres and is currently based at Darley's Northwood Park in Victoria.

The sixth foal out of his unraced dam, Salute the Soldier is the best by a large margin. Street Fire's only black-type winner, she has an additional four winners to date. Her 2018 filly, Fire Dancing (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), has yet to race, and she has a yearling filly by that sire, too.

The Kris S. mare Firedrake, Salute the Soldier's second dam, is a half-sister to GI Eddie Read H. hero Monzante (Maria's Mon) and to the French stakes winner Alpha Plus (Mr. Prospector), second in the G3 Prix La Rochette. His fourth dam is Bold Captive (Boldnesian), responsible for GI Breeders' Cup Classic victor Skywalker (Relaunch) and GII Malibu S. hero Pac Mania (Ramsinga {Fr}).

Saturday, Meydan, Middle East
AL MAKTOUM CHALLENGE R3 (SPONSORED BY EMIRATES AIRLINE)-G1, $390,000, Meydan, 3-6, NH4yo/up & SH3yo/up, 2000m, 2:03.09, ft.
1–SALUTE THE SOLDIER (GER), 126, g, 6, by Sepoy (Aus)
1st Dam: Street Fire (Ire), by Street Cry (Ire)
2nd Dam: Firedrake, by Kris S.
3rd Dam: Danzante, by Danzig
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (380,000gns HRA '19 TATOCT).
O-Victorious; B-Alan Spence (GER); T-Fawzi Nass; J-Adrie de
Vries. $234,000. Lifetime Record: 21-8-5-3, $1,122,218. Werk
Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hypothetical (Ire), 126, c, 4, Lope de Vega (Ire)–Peut Etre
(Ire), by Whipper. (550,000gns Ylg '18 TATOCT). O-Sheikh
Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum; B-Knocktoran Stud
(IRE); T-Salem bin Ghadayer. $78,000.
3–Roman Rosso (Arg), 126, h, 6, Roman Ruler–Rose City (Arg),
by City West (Arg). O-Zaur Bifov; B-Haras Melincue (ARG);
T-Satish Seemar. $39,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, 3, 1 1/4.
Also Ran: Thegreatcollection, Secret Ambition (GB), New Trails, Dubai Mirage (Ire), Firnas (GB), Quip, Tailor's Row, Saltarin Dubai (Arg). Click for the Racing Post chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video.

The post More Distance, No Problem for Salute the Soldier in G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Salute the Soldier (Ger) (Sepoy {Aus}) captured the second group race of his career in the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 at Meydan on Thursday. His win interrupted a Godolphin streak, as the royal blue was first past the post in three of the five races carded for Thoroughbreds on the day.

The Alan Spence-bred settled in a tracking third as Capezzano (Bernardini) showed the way on the front end. However, Salute the Soldier sidled up to the pacesetter's outside and stuck his neck in front late on the back straight. Capezzano punched back and those two continued to exchange blows around the far turn. Still locked together at the quarter pole, Salute the Soldier inched away from a stubborn Capezzano 300 metres from home. As the wire neared, the Fawzi Nass trainee started to tread water, but held on to win by a length from the closing Thegreatcollection (Saint Anddan). Ajuste Fiscal (Uru) (Ioya Bigtime) completed the trifecta 3/4 of a length back in third. Capezzano hung gamely on for fourth a neck behind.

“It went to plan, I expected Capezzano (Bernardini) to lead and I wanted to sit in second,” said jockey Adrie de Vries. “My horse started to get a bit racy, but I needed to react, and I could give him a blow on the turn to fill him up again. We hit the front soon and he always just does enough, he was getting very tired in the end and he was entitled to, I think we went fast, riding a bit deep. This is a big point for us, maybe we can go for the big one [G1 Dubai World Cup] with this horse. He needs to step up, I think he would have learnt a lot today. He is a funny horse and was late to mature, and not easy to train, and there is still room for improvement.”

Third in the Listed Dubai Duty Free Cup S. at Newbury in September of 2019 in the colours of Mr. and Mrs. P. Hargreaves and Alan Spence for trainer Clive Cox, the bay was knocked down for 380,000 guineas to Oliver St Lawrence Bloodstock later that fall at the Tattersalls Autumn HIT Sale. Transferred to the Fawzi Nass barn for new owners Victorious, he promptly rewarded his new connections with a handicap win in his Meydan debut last January. Fourth to Thursday's G2 Al Rashidiya victor Zakouski (GB) (Shamardal) in the G2 Zabeel Mile on Feb. 20, Salute the Soldier captured his first group race, the G3 Burj Nahaar on Super Saturday in 2020. Coming off a 285-day break, the gelding returned with a fourth in the Listed Dubai Creek Mile behind re-opposing rival Thegreatcollection on Dec. 17, and went one better in the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge R1 on Jan. 21.

Pedigree Notes

Salute the Soldier counts as one of 21 black-type winners, 11 at the group level, for Gone West-line stallion Sepoy. His best progeny to date has been the Godolphin filly Alizee (Aus), a winner of the G1 Queen of the Turf S., G1 Futurity S. and G1 Flight S. Salute the Soldier is his second Group 2 winner after G2 German 1000 Guineas heroine Unforgetable Filly (GB).

By far the best foal produced by the unraced Street Fire (Ire), Salute the Soldier is one of five winners from seven to race. His dam's latest offspring is a yearling filly by Iffraaj (GB). The 6-year-old gelding's third dam is French listed winner Danzante (Danzig), who was also placed five times at group level in France and America and threw GI Eddie Read H. hero Monzante (Maria's Mon), as well as French stakes winner Alpha Plus (Mr. Prospector), second in the G3 Prix La Rochette. Danzante was one of five black-type winners for SW Bold Captive (Boldnesian), chief among them GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero Skywalker (Relaunch).

Thursday, Meydan, Dubai
AL MAKTOUM CHALLENGE R2 SPONSORED BY EMIRATES AIRLINE-G2, $293,000, Meydan, 2-11, 3yo/up, 9 1/2f, 1:57.37, fs.
1–SALUTE THE SOLDIER (GER), 126, g, 6, by Sepoy (Aus)
1st Dam: Street Fire (Ire), by Street Cry (Ire)
2nd Dam: Firedrake, by Kris S.
3rd Dam: Danzante, by Danzig
(380,000gns HRA '19 TATAUT). O-Victorious; B-Alan Spence
(GER); T-Fawzi Nass; J-Adrie de Vries. $175,800. Lifetime
Record: 20-7-5-3, $672,317. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Thegreatcollection, 126, g, 7, Saint Anddan–Cactus Cadillac,
by Cactus Ridge. O-Zaur Sekrekov; B-Kathleen Amaya,
Alexandro Centofanti & Raffaele Centofanti (FL); T-Doug
Watson. $58,600.
3–Ajuste Fiscal (Uru), 126, c, 4, Ioya Bigtime–Braid (Arg), by
Storm Surge. O-Stud La Pomme; B-La Concordia (URU);
T-Antonio Luiz Cintra Pereira. $29,300.
Margins: 1, 3/4, NK.
Also Ran: Capezzano, Firnas (GB), Quip, Blown By Wind (GB), Dubai Warrior (GB), Mootasadir (GB). Scratched: Mark of Approval.
Click for the Racing Post chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.

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