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Dubawi Legend Headed Straight to The Guineas

The Group 1-placed Dubawi Legend (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who carries the silks of Dr. Ali Ridha, will not have a run before a planned appearance in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas on Apr. 30. A winner at first asking at Doncaster in July, the Hugo Palmer trainee ran third in the G3 Acomb S. on Aug. 18 and then was only two lengths behind Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) when second in the G1 Dewhurst S. on Oct. 9. He did not fair well in the draw of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, and raced too eagerly before tiring to 10th at Del Mar in November.

Said trainer Hugo Palmer, who is presently in negotiations to take over Michael Owen's Manor House Stables, “He has grown about an inch, which surprised me. He was probably barely 16 hands last year, so he has done well and he will very much have Guineas entries and probably a number of them.”

He added, “I don't think he will have a prep-run. He ended his year quite late and it was mid-November by the time he got back to England. He has had a nice break and he is the second-highest-rated 2-year-old in Europe, so I don't feel I need to go into a trial to prove he is good enough to justify his place in a Guineas.

“He handled the undulations at Newmarket very well and for a good deal of the last two furlongs, he looked the most likely winner in the Dewhurst. It would be quite hard not to go to Newmarket, for all the while that Newmarket will probably be the strongest race.

“In the back of my mind he has always shown an enormous amount of speed and I believe that he will stay a mile. I don't think he will ever get further.”

Two other juvenile stars for Palmer, G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. victor Ebro River (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) and the dual group-placed Hierarchy (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) will not head to any Classic engagements, but will be kept over sprinting trips.

“The plan at the moment is definitely not the Guineas,” Palmer said of Al Shaqab Racing's Ebro River. “We explored seven furlongs twice last year, once relatively satisfactorily, but still not the answer we wanted and the second time very unsatisfactorily. I am content to say that this is not a miler.

“I think, all being well, he will start in the Pavilion S. [at Ascot on Apr. 27], which is the course and distance of the Commonwealth Cup and we will see how we get on there. I would like to think he will go Pavilion, Sandy Lane S. [at Haydock on May 21], Ascot–but the [G1] King's Stand could just be an option by that stage. He could go King's Stand and [G1] Commonwealth Cup.”

Third in the G3 Sirenia S. on Sept. 4, the Qatar Racing and David Howden-owned colt was second in the G2 Mill Reef S. later that month and was a close sixth in the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in November.

“Hierarchy has done really well,” he said. “He has broadened and shrunk down on his legs a little bit without massively growing upwards.

“He has the option of coming back to the King's Stand. It would be a pain to consistently run my two fastest horses against each other. But they will be racing against each other if they had different trainers. We have to treat each horse individually.”

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Royal Patronage Camp Leaning Toward The Derby

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who won the G3 Acomb S. and G2 Royal Lodge S. in succession in August and September, respectively, has developed well this winter and is likely to try the G1 Cazoo Derby route, according to co-trainer Charlie Johnston. Eighth in the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S. on Oct. 23 where he picked up an injury, the bay has been recuperating, but looks more of a “mile-and-a-quarter-plus” horse to Johnston and his co-trainer father Mark. Originally, the training duo had pencilled in a start in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas for the colt.

“We've had lots of excited Highclere owners coming here at regular intervals to see Royal Patronage, who seems to have wintered very well, but it is still very much the early days of his preparation for the season ahead,” said Charlie Johnston. “We won't see him before the Guineas at the absolute earliest and I think we're starting now to lean towards the route of starting in the [G2] Dante [S.] with a Derby run in mind. He's certainly the flagbearer [for the yard] in the 3-year-old division.

“It always sticks in my head that dad has always said the best trial for the Derby is the Guineas and I think, probably going into the winter, we thought we had that as the favourite place for him to start this year.

“Only when we start to do some faster work with him in March will we get a better handle on what distance is going to be optimum for him this season but looking at him, the physical shape and size of the horse now, he's starting to scream a mile-and-a-quarter-plus.”

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Mishriff on Track For Saudi Cup Title Defence

Prince Faisal's 2021 $20-million Saudi Cup hero Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) is in excellent form ahead of his defence of his crown in the 2022 edition, the first time the race has been accorded Group 1 status. The John and Thady Gosden runner took the G1 Sheema Classic at Meydan last March, and was third in Sandown's G1 Eclipse S. July. Second to Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on July 24, he bounced back to win the G1 Juddmonte International S. a month later. In his final 2021 start, the 5-year-old was fourth in the G1 Champion S. at Ascot on Oct. 16.

“He's a year older and a little bigger, but he's been training well up to the race so far so let's hope it continues like that,” said co-trainer Thady Gosden. “It's more of a challenge being the middle of winter over here. We've been lucky to avoid the snow so far, but it has been cold and frosty. It's more straightforward in a warmer climate, but we're lucky it hasn't been too cold here.

“We'll get the Saudi hurdle out of the way and then there are two possible races on World Cup night, the Sheema Classic and the [G1 Dubai] World Cup itself and I'm sure Prince Faisal will know which he'd like to go for.

“Then we've got a long season here so there's a few bridges to cross before we start thinking of the Breeders' Cup.”

Another Gosden runner pointed to the Saudi Cup meeting at the end of February is dual Group 1 winner Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). The winner of the 2020 G1 Prince of Wales's S. has not been seen in action since he captured the G1 Dubai Turf at the end of March and is aiming for the Neom Cup on the Saudi Cup undercard.

“Lord North had a bit of an issue and because he's a horse of such calibre we've given him all the time he needs, but he's back training well now and hopefully he gets to the Neom,” said Gosden. “He's bouncing around the place and he's pretty determined to get out there. It looks a tough field and Pyledriver ran exceptionally well in Hong Kong, but he's back to his old self.”

The G1 Coronation Cup winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), who ran a heroic second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase in December, is also training with an eye toward a start in the Neom Cup. His trainers William Muir and Chris Grassick sent the 5-year-old entire out for a spin over the Kempton all-weather prior to leaving for Saudi Arabia.

“We took him to Kempton today to let him have a blow over the surface to cover a distance of ground,” Muir said. “It was just to literally get him away from home for something different and a change of scenery, to perk him up and keep him in good shape.

“The horse is in great shape. It wasn't one of those gallops you want to put a gun to his head and say 'go'. It was just to let us cover the distance.

“Martin [Dywer] rode him and when he got off he said, after riding in races there over the winter, it felt like he broke the track record.”

The La Pyle Partnership colourbearer was under consideration for the Saudi Cup itself, but connections ultimately opted for the Neom Cup on turf.

“We had a long conversation, the owners and myself, and we are aiming to go from here to the Sheema Classic in Dubai,” Muir explained. “We felt to drop him back to a mile-one on dirt and then go back up to a mile and four would be giving different signals. We know a mile and a quarter on turf is fine so we thought we'd do that and then go onto the next target.”

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Alkumait Part of a New Sponsorship Agreement With The Curragh

New Castlefield Stud stallion Alkumait (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) is part of a new sponsorship agreement with The Curragh. The two-race package includes the first 2-year-old race of the new Flat Racing season on Mar. 26 and a 10-furlong maiden for 3-year-olds and up on Apr. 10. Both races will be an important part of launching and marketing the stallion's career. The G2 Mill Reef S. winner was purchased by Capital Bloodstock to stand at Castlefield Stud in County Kilkenny after his Mill Reef win. In addition, the breeder of the winner of the “Alkumait standing at Castlefield Stud with a €100,000 Bonus 2yo EBF Maiden” will be presented with a free nomination to the stallion. There is also a €100,000 bonus that will be awarded for the connections associated with his first black-type winner in 2025, with the breeder receiving 50%, the trainer 25% and the owner 25%.

Evan Arkwright, Racing and Sponsorship Manager, commented, “We are delighted to play an important role in the promotion of such an exciting new sire and the two year race in particular is a perfect fit to promote a racehorse who was such a high class juvenile.”

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