What Classic clues may we glean there? Well, maybe none. But I liked the look of Narkez (Fr), who gave his rivals a six-length walloping in the Prix Comrade last Tuesday, picking up where he left off after winning at Clairefontaine last October. Bred by Nurlan Bizakov under his Sumbe banner, the colt represents that magic Siyouni (Fr)-Galileo (Ire) cross, though let's face it, Galileo mares work well all over the place. Narkez, trained by Andre Fabre, has helped to give his owner a great start to the season following the Listed win of Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the Doncaster Mile. 

One person who is entitled to love Siyouni more than most is Peter Brant, who celebrated his first European Classic victory when Sottsass (Fr) won the Prix du Jockey Club before going on to deliver the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for Brant as well. We're looking forward to seeing his first runners emerge this season, but in the meantime Brant looks to have another decent prospect by Siyouni on his hands in the form of Louise Procter (Fr). Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, she became the second TDN Rising Star of the week for her sire when remaining unbeaten in her third start in the Prix du Belvedere at Chantilly on Thursday. She looks smart and has the entries to match. 

Making Dreams (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) kept up her trainer Karl Burke's great strike-rate in French stakes races by winning the G3 Prix Penelope by six lengths on her seasonal debut at Saint-Cloud. She is another who should enter considerations for the Classics, as should the Prix Caracalla winner Mister Gatz (Fr), who was born in the spring in which his sire Adlerflug (Ger) died. The flashy chestnut colt was somewhat reminiscent of his father as he bowled around the lush Parisian turf looking like he was having a mighty time before putting his head down to stride clear of the field by five lengths. Trained in Deauville by Stephanie Nigge for a collection of owners which includes his breeder Mathieu Boutin and Gerard Augustin-Normand, Mister Gatz holds an entry for the Deutsches Derby. 

O'Shea Shines on Dubai's Big Day

Of course last week, or more specifically Saturday, was really all about the Dubai World Cup meeting at Meydan which could certainly be considered a triumph for internationalism. The trophies for the eight Group races were shared between horses trained in America, Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan, France, Britain and Dubai (x2).

It was also a great advertisement for keeping classy horses in training beyond the age of three. The winners of the five Group 1 contests were aged between five and seven, with Jerome Reynier's Dubai Turf winner Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) being the youngest of those, and the wide-margin Golden Shaheen winner, the former Russian-trained Tuz (Oxbow), enjoying his finest hour as a seven-year-old on his fourth appearance on Dubai World Cup night. 

Tuz and the Dubai World Cup winner Laurel River (Into Mischief) won their races in a manner which must still have their trainer Bhupat Seemar and jockey Tadhg O'Shea blinking in disbelief. By six and a half and eight and a half lengths respectively, they each set a new record for the winning distance, with Laurel River, who broke from the outside gate, overturning that held by Dubai Millennium (GB) for 24 years. 

O'Shea, now 42, has been champion jockey in the UAE 11 times and he is in pole position to claim his 12th title this season. But despite that consistent success, the Irishman had a sole Group 1 victory to his name until Saturday.

A modest and loyal grafter, O'Shea praised Laurel River's owner Juddmonte for keeping him on the horse, saying, “They could have any jockey in the world on him and they kept the faith with me. I'll be forever indebted to them.”

Juddmonte didn't need any other jockey to claim a second Dubai World Cup after Arrogate's victory in 2017. O'Shea, bold from the outset from the number 12 stall, simply rode his rivals ragged and very much deserved his night in the spotlight. 

The Auguste Enigma

The last three winners of the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) were all in action over the weekend, with Shahryar (Jpn) a good second in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, which also featured the last two Japanese Oaks winners Liberty Island (Jpn) and Stars On Earth (Jpn), while Do Deuce (Jpn) was not beaten far when fifth in the G1 Dubai Turf. Lest we think that Japan is completely depleted of its best runners during the big meetings in the Middle East, then look no further than Sunday's G1 Osaka Hai at Hanshin. It featured last year's Japanese Derby and 2,000 Guineas winners, Tastiera (Jpn) and Sol Oriens (Jpn), along with Geoglyph (Jpn), who beat Equinox (Jpn) to win the Guineas in 2022, and the G1 Shuka Sho winner of that same year, Stunning Rose (Jpn).

So much of the Sheema Classic build-up had centred on the clash between Liberty Island and Auguste Rodin (Ire), but the latter, who won last year's Derby and Irish Derby before going on to land the Irish Champion and Breeders' Cup Turf, added to his enigmatic status by finishing last of the 12 runners. 

Don't despair. When 12th in the Guineas on debut last season, Auguste Rodin bounced back to win at Epsom, and he put his last-place finish in the King George behind him to triumph next time out on Irish Champions Weekend. This column, at least, still holds the faith that when he's good, he's very, very good. 

Epsom's honour was however upheld in Sydney over the weekend, where the 2020 Derby winner Serpentine (Ire) claimed his second consecutive stakes win for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in the G3 Neville Selwood S. 

It's Whitsbury's World

It is important not to get too carried away with the early two-year-old races. Despite the annual hullabaloo over Royal Ascot, nothing really matters until the autumn, right? But it's impossible not to watch the early skirmishes with interest and Whitsbury Manor Stud's Sergei Prokofiev was represented by his second winner from just two runners when Flicka's Girl triumphed at Wolverhampton on Easter Monday. The David Loughnane-trained filly was also bred by Whitsbury Manor and sold, as is the stud's usual practice, at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale for 22,000gns.

Britain's other juvenile race on Monday over at Kempton went the way of Pont Neuf (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}), a winner on debut for Eve Johnston Houghton, who also struck with the two-year-old Tanager (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) at Chelmsford on Good Friday. 

The trainer has a well established partnership with bloodstock agent Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock when it comes to working the sales and the pair has once again unearthed a couple of useful looking prospects for 24,000gns (Tattersalls Somerville) and €22,000 (Tattersalls Ireland) respectively.

Johnson Houghton has made a flying start to the new season with four winners and three placed horses from nine runners since the official 'start of the Flat'.

Jack Came Back

It was announced last week that Ben Curtis, who was been riding at Fair Grounds in New Orleans over the winter, would remain in America for “the foreseeable future” after riding 43 winners and netting more than $1.5 million in prize-money.

Last September, Curtis had ridden his 1,000th winner aboard Merrijig (GB) (Schiaparelli {Ger}) and as that horse resumed on Good Friday, the absent Curtis was replaced in the saddle by Jack Gilligan, who has recently returned after a decade in the US and now has Curtis's former agent Simon Dodds representing him.

Merrijig was the first of two winners for Gilligan from three rides on Good Friday, and the jockey struck again 24 hours later on his sole ride at Wolverhampton. 

Not to be confused with the Irish conditional of the same name, Gilligan was born in Newmarket but left Britain at the age of 17 with his parents Pat, a racing writer and trainer, and Vicky, a barn foreman at WinStar Farm. With more than 400 wins in America, including two Grade III victories aboard Silver Dust (Tapit), he has been making the most of the opportunities handed to him since returning to his home town.

There are not many names in the jockeys' table with a better strike-rate than Gilligan so far this year. He is currently operating at 20% winners to rides. Backing all of his 45 mounts would have yielded a profit of almost £43 to a £1 stake.

Pecheur Swaps Roles for Rottgen

German Classic-winning jockey Maxim Pecheur retired at the end of last season to succeed Markus Klug as the trainer at Gestut Rottgen near Cologne. He had previously ridden Windstoss (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger}) in the famous Rottgen colours to win the 2017 G1 Deutsches Derby. The colt was trained by Klug, as was Pecheur's G1 Preis der Diana winner, Diamanta (Ger) (Maxios {GB}), for Gestut Brummerhof. 

Pecheur is clearly adjusting well to his new role at the historic training centre and he could well have a Derby contender of his own this year after his first runner, Anspruch (Ger) (New Bay {GB}), won on debut at Cologne on Monday. The Rottgen-bred colt is out of the Group 3 winner Anna Katharina (Ger) (Kallisto {Ger}).

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It's entirely possible that Juddmonte's Laurel River (Into Mischief) managed to upstage him Saturday with an absolutely stunning, front-running tour-de-force in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan, a result that even those closest to him may not have anticipated.

Winner of the 2022 GII Pat O'Brien S.–where a horse called Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) was third–Laurel River was somewhat controversially withdrawn from that year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, a race for which he was likely to be favored. Sidelined for a spell, Juddmonte elected to transfer their homebred from Bob Baffert to the Dubai-based stable of leading trainer Bhupat Seemar in the summer of 2023.

To say things were off to an inauspicious beginning in the Emirates would be an understatement of monumental proportions. Laurel River faded tamely to finish seventh in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint on local debut in late January, but as disappointing as that effort was, he bounced back to post an equally emphatic 6 3/4-length victory in the G3 Burj Nahaar on Super Saturday to punch his ticket to World Cup night.

Conventional wisdom dictates that winning the Burj Nahaar leads to a start in the G2 Godolphin Mile over the same course and distance on the big night, but Seemar and the Juddmonte braintrust called an audible and routed the six-year-old to the G1 Dubai World Cup instead: a race 12 times as valuable, but incrementally more challenging on a few levels, not least the 2000-metre distance of the race. Additionally, the Godolphin Mile was likely to attract the speedy Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) and defending champion Isolate (Mark Valeski), and opting for the World Cup would eliminate the possibility of a suicidal pace duel.

“I feel like the 10 furlongs is a stretch for him, but that is a speed-favoring track and he might be the lone speed,” Juddmonte's Garrett O'Rourke told the TDN when World Cup plans were confirmed Mar. 7.

After drawing 12 of 12 at Wednesday's barrier draw at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa, many would have further downgraded the chances of Laurel River, reasoning that a horse already questionable to see out the trip would have to go hard–perhaps too hard–in order to secure the front. After all, another speedball–Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn})–had similar misfortune at the draw last year and dropped away to finish well down the field.

But there would be no such repeat Saturday evening, as Laurel River decisively surged into a clear lead with a half-mile to travel and went on to score by 8 1/2 lengths, the largest margin of victory in a World Cup at Meydan.

“I'm still coming to terms with what's happened,” Seemar said. “I think it'll probably sink in in another day or two. It's absolutely amazing. [Jockey] Tadhg [O'Shea] said this morning 'we're drawn 12, I'm not going to be two-minded about it, I'm going to go forward.'”

And go forward he did, sliding over to lead three off the inside with a circuit to travel as he had Military Law (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Dura Erede (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) for early company. As they turned towards the backstretch, Defunded (Dialed In) circled up so as not to sit wide the trip, and the two of them controlled the pace through the middle stages.

They put the better part of a half-dozen lengths on Dura Erede and the rail-skimming international favorite Kabirkhan (California Chrome) rounding the turn, and by the time Laurel River passed the 600-meter pole, it was really all over but the shouting. Showing no signs of stopping as he hit the top of the lane, Laurel River opened up by perhaps as many as 10 lengths  and jogged it in from there.

Senor Buscador got first run on defending champion Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), but was run down on the wire for second while adding another $1.2 million to his $10-million grab in the G1 Saudi Cup Feb. 24.

“He brings it every time, he ran a really good race,” said trainer Todd Fincher. “He might have started his run a little early trying to catch Laurel River and maybe that cost us a placing. Hats off to Laurel River, he freaked on everybody there.”

Of the winner, Seemar added, “”He's got so much natural pace. He comes out of the gate and this is why we ran him over six furlongs [in the Al Shindagha].

“Tadhg was able to get some easy fractions and then I saw Defunded coming on his outside but he just kept on going further. I expected to see all the closers flying at him but he kept going.”

For the better part of two decades, O'Shea has pounded the pavement on the Emirates Racing Authority, and he was basking in the afterglow of his Saturday achievements. He also guided Tuz (Oxbow) to an open-lengths success in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, his second in three years after missing by a nostril with defending champion Switzerland in 2023.

“I've been fortunate enough to have had Dubai World Cup night winners but you don't get many opportunities and I'm going to be forever grateful to Juddmonte for keeping me on the horse, they could use anyone and they're a worldwide operation that's really successful,” said O'Shea.

“When he had his first run for the stable, we thought he'd disappointed, but we never lost faith. He was explosive last time and I said the other morning to Bhupat, I pulled him aside and said I'd never ridden a horse with his ability ever. And he'd just done an easy work on his own.

“With the dirt you can't be half-hearted, you have to go forward. If he didn't stay, he didn't stay. We were aware of that. The main thing that won the race, it's easy to say when you win, but I was able to keep filling him up and filling him up.”

Kabirkhan sat a good inside trip, but failed to go on in the lane and finished eighth, beaten over 18 lengths.

“He was beaten a long way out,” commented his jockey Pat Dobbs. “I knew leaving the back straight he wasn't the same horse as before.”

Of the remaining Americans, Newgate (Into Mischief), Crupi (Curlin) and Clapton (Brethren) finished a distant eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

Pedigree Notes:

Laurel River is the 20th Grade I winner for Into Mischief and is bred on the same cross over Empire Maker responsible for 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun, while other top-level winners from Fappiano-line mares include champion Covfeve, Gina Romantica, Doppelganger and Atone. Additional stakes winners by Into Mischief out of Empire Maker dams include Grade III scorers Occult and Center Aisle and Juddmonte's late Taraz.

On paper, Laurel River is bred to stay the mile and quarter and perhaps further, as his first two dams are by Belmont S. winners. Juddmonte purchased Laurel River's second dam Soothing Touch for $550,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, and while she didn't work out as a racemare, she's excelled in the breeding shed.

The mare is the dam of six winners from 10 to race, including her first foal Emollient (Empire Maker), victorious in the 2013 GI Central Bank Ashland S. and the Juddmonte-sponsored GI Spinster, and her four winners as a broodmare include G2 Prix de Malleret winner Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and French listed winner Ardent (Frankel {GB}).  Soothing Touch has also accounted for Hofburg (Tapit), a stakes winner and third in the GI Belmont S; and stakes winner Courtier (Tapit).

The second foal from Soothing Touch, Laurel River has a 2-year-old half-sister by Constitution, a yearling half-brother by that son of Tapit and produced a full-sister to Laurel River four days after his victory in the Burj Nahaar.

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
DUBAI WORLD CUP SPONSORED BY EMIRATES AIRLINE-G1, AED12,000,000, Meydan, 3-30, 3yo/up, 10f, 2:02.31, fs.
1–LAUREL RIVER, 126, h, 6, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Calm Water, by Empire Maker
                2nd Dam: Soothing Touch, by Touch Gold
                3rd Dam: Glia, by A.P. Indy
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Inc
(KY); T-Bhupat Seemar; J-Tadhg O'Shea. $6,960,000. Lifetime
Record: GSW-US, 10-6-1-0-1, $7,470,676. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ushba Tesoro (Jpn), 126, h, 7, Orfevre (Jpn)–Millefeui Attach
(Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). (¥25,000,000 Wlg '17
JRHAJUL). O-Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co Ltd; B-Chiyoda Farm
Shizunai (JPN); T-Noboru Takagi. $2,400,000.
3–Senor Buscador, 126, h, 6, Mineshaft–Rose's Desert, by
Desert God. O-Sharaf Mohammed Al Hariri & Joe R Peacock Jr;
B-Joe Peacock Sr & Joe Peacock Jr (KY); T-Todd W Fincher.
$1,200,000.
Margins: 8HF, NK, 4 3/4.
Also Ran: Wilson Tesoro (Jpn), Dura Erede (Jpn), Derma Sotogake (Jpn), Defunded, Kabirkhan, Newgate, Crupi, Clapton, Military Law (GB). Click for the ERA chart & video.

WOW! #7 LAUREL RIVER dominates the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) in front-running fashion!

The @JuddmonteFarms homebred was perfectly ridden by @OsheaTadhg for trainer Satish Seemar. Congratulations to the connections! pic.twitter.com/NYZEeSYF7m

— TVG (@TVG) March 30, 2024

The post Juddmonte Juggernaut! Laurel River Wins Dubai World Cup By An Imposing Margin appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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GUNS AND GLORY

€543,000 @goffs1866 Dubai Sale grad surely gets invited to the G2 UAE Derby after this demolition job. #DWC24

pic.twitter.com/4f5BHXNege

— Laura King لورا كنج 金樂雅 (@LauraKingDXB) March 8, 2024

The post Gun Runner Colt Lights Up Meydan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The result represented a complete turnaround from his local debut Jan. 26 when he was an early factor in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint over 1200 metres, but faded tamely from 2 1/2 furlongs out and finished a distant seventh behind Mouheeb (Flatter).

Drawn wide in 14 for this contest over the mile, the homebred was well into stride and was restrained a bit through the opening exchanges before being allowed to stride into the lead by Tadhg O'Shea after the first 400 metres. Full of run at every stage of the race thereafter, Laurel River had amassed an imposing advantage turning them in and kept on very nicely to take it by eight lengths in good time.

Previously trained by Bob Baffert, the bay won four of his seven starts in the U.S., capped by his 3 3/4-length success in the seven-furlong Pat O'Brien at Del Mar in August 2022. Trainer Bhupat Seemar served as a Baffert assistant for some time.

“He's a high-class horse and, to be fair to him, he hadn't run in 18 months when we ran him over six furlongs,” said O'Shea. “We weren't disappointed the last time, but they're racehorses and not computers; sometimes they just need a run to get back on their A-Game.

“Hats off to Bhupat and the team and to Juddmonte for keeping the faith with him.”

Pedigree Notes

A predominantly breed-to-race operation, Juddmonte purchased Laurel River's second dam Soothing Touch for $550,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, and while she didn't work out as a racemare, she's excelled in the breeding shed.

The mare is the dam of six winners from 10 to race, including her first foal Emollient (Empire Maker), victorious in the 2013 GI Central Bank Ashland S. and the Juddmonte-sponsored GI Spinster, and her four winners as a broodmare include G2 Prix de Malleret winner Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and French listed winner Ardent (Frankel {GB}). Soothing Touch has also accounted for Hofburg (Tapit), a stakes winner and third in the GI Belmont S; and SW Courtier (Tapit).

The second foal from Soothing Touch, Laurel River has a 2-year-old half-sister by Constitution, a yearling half-brother by the Tapit son and is due to foal a full-sibling to Laurel River this term.

The cross of Into Mischief over Empire Maker mares has resulted in 29 winners from 43 starters and six stakes winners, including GI Kentucky Derby hero Mandaloun, the Grade II winners Occult and Center Aisle and Juddmonte's sadly departed multiple stakes-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Taraz. When extending the cross to Unbridled-line mares, offspring include MGISW champion Covfeve, Grade I winner Gina Romantica and the additional graded scorers Largent and Maximus Mischief.

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
BURJ NAHAAR SPONSORED BY EMIRATES SKYCARGO-G3, AED1,200,000, Meydan, 3-2, 3yo/up, 8f, 1:36.90, fs.
1–LAUREL RIVER, 126, h, 6, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Calm Water, by Empire Maker
                2nd Dam: Soothing Touch, by Touch Gold
                3rd Dam: Glia, by A.P. Indy
O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY); T-Bhupat Seemar;
J-Tadhg O'Shea. AED720,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-US, 9-5-1-
0-1, AED1,034,620. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Qareeb, 126, h, 6, Speightstown–Flip Flop (Fr), by Zieten.
($360,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; 50,000gns HRA '21 TATAUT).
O-Abubaker Kadoura; B-Lynch Bages Ltd (KY); T-Musabbeh Al
Mheiri. AED240,000.
3–Everfast, 126, g, 8, Take Charge Indy–Awesome Surprise, by
Awesome Again. ($47,000 Ylg '17 KEEJAN). O-Kildare Stud –
Frankie O'Connor; B-Extern Developments (KY); T-Doug
Watson. AED120,000.
Margins: 6 3/4, 3, 2 1/4.
Also Ran: Al Jaddaf (GB), Swing Vote (GB), Asad Zabeel (GB), Celtic Prince (GB), Justice Protecol (GB), King Ottoman, Thegreatcollection, Quality Humor, Southern Artist, Western Writer (Ire), Vagalame (Ire), Hypothetical (Ire), Royal Mews (Fr). Scratched: Sound Money. Click for the ERA chart and video.

Wow!

Laurel River turns the Burj Nahaar Sponsored By @emirates SkyCargo into an absolute procession for @BhupatSeemar, @OsheaTadhg and @JuddmonteFarms #SuperSaturday | #DubaiCarnival pic.twitter.com/rneJwci27D

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 2, 2024

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Mohammad Saeed Rashid Ali Al Shehhi, Member & General Manager of the ERA, said, “We feel it's important to recognize those who contribute so much to the success of racing in the UAE.

“The ERA Oscars will be a way of showcasing the achievements of those at the very top of our sport, as well as recognizing the hard work put in by stable staff and those behind the scenes. We hope that local racing fans will support this new initiative and also that it will serve as a fitting way to launch the new season in the Emirates, which gets underway on Friday, Oct. 28.”

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O'Shea has not, however, been devoid of success throughout the last two decades. Very much the opposite in fact. Much of that time has been spent in the UAE, where he is the most successful jockey of all time and has been champion on nine occasions.

“It's my 20th season in Dubai and I'm hopefully on the cusp of sealing a tenth championship as I'm eight in front with two meetings to go,” says O'Shea.

Those meetings take place on Thursday and Friday, and however many more wins the jockey adds to his tally of 65 for the season, none will come close to his major success on Saturday for Bhupat Seemar.

He continues, “To ride a Group 1 winner on Dubai World Cup night was special. I haven't ridden a Group 1 winner on the Thoroughbreds and I turned 40 in February. I don't get too many chances in Group 1s so I was thinking maybe I'd missed the boat on that one, so it was very, very special and a huge performance by the horse on the night. He was beautifully prepared by Bhupat and the team at Zabeel Stables.”

The victory also sealed an impressive start to the training career of Seemar, who took over the licence from his uncle, Satish Seemar, at the start of the season.

“It's amazing,” says O'Shea. “Bhupat has been in Dubai for as long as I have and he's been assistant to his uncle for the last 19 years, so to be champion trainer in the first season with his name on the licence is quite something. I rode his first stakes winner on a horse called Tuz and now to ride him a Group 1 winner in his first year, it's been one of those pinch-yourself seasons.”

He adds, “I've never ridden as many winners here in a season, and for Bhupat, too, it's just been one of those years when everything clicked. We had the rub of the green throughout and the horses stayed extremely healthy and well and held their form from the drop of the flag until World Cup night. It's like a dream really and I don't want to wake up.”

The stable's good night at Meydan on Saturday also saw Summer Is Tomorrow (Summer Front) run second in the G2 UAE Derby behind Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach The Crown {Jpn}). O'Shea had even more reason to be pleased with that good run as he was responsible for buying the colt at last year's Arqana Breeze-up Sale for £120,000.

“He ran a huge race,” says the rider. “He's won twice for us this season, including at the carnival, and now he's been second in the UAE Derby. I'll be totally honest, I didn't think he'd stay the distance. I bought him for the Burke family at Arqana, which was held at Doncaster last year because of Covid. I was more active at the sales because a lot of owners and Bhupat couldn't travel because of Covid restrictions, but it worked out well.”

He adds, “He breezed extremely well and he took to the sand over here like a duck to water. I suppose it does help a little bit, when you're looking at their action at the breeze-ups, to have ridden for a long time out here. That horse really grabbed for the ground and he had a knee action when he breezed. With all those things put together I recommended him to the Burke family and happily he has paid for himself though the season, culminating with a huge second in the UAE Derby on World Cup night.”

The stable will now be the beneficiary of a number of lots from the inaugural Goffs Dubai Breeze-up Sale, held on the Thursday evening before the World Cup.

“Goffs did a great job and it was fantastic that the Maktoum family organised to have the breeze-up sale in Dubai,” O'Shea says. “Bhupat ended up with seven horses from the sale with very good pedigrees. They are the next winners in waiting, hopefully, and it's hugely exciting for the horse population in Dubai. Most of the horses we get over here have started their careers elsewhere in Ireland, or the UK, or France, so it's nice for some of the trainers over here to start off with a blank canvas and to be able to give them time to acclimatise. I think the sale went down very well and I'm sure the results will come in the upcoming season.”

He continues, “It's a great week when everyone ships in and the sale has added an extra spice to it as there's people that you see at the sale that wouldn't have been here normally for World Cup week. There was a huge gathering and I think the timing was great.”

After racing in the UAE concludes this week, O'Shea, a native of Dromahane, Co Cork, heads to Qatar for the end of their season before making his annual summer trip home to Ireland.

“In years gone by I used to come back and try to ride in Ireland or the UK but I found it was a bit difficult,” he says frankly. “The lads who are there all year round, sometimes it's a struggle for them to get rides so I am under no illusion that I can get off a plane and be somewhere for two months and try to get rides. I concentrate on what's working and that's over here. I get home in the summer for seven or eight weeks. I used to call Dubai my second home but I spend longer here now than I do anywhere else.”

The first anniversary of the death of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum passed last week, and O'Shea reflects on how much he owes to his support in the early days of his career.

“I was very fortunate that back in 2001 there were four of us fighting out the Irish champion apprentice title, and with about six weeks left in the season we were notified through our trainers that Sheikh Hamdan had kindly sponsored an all-expenses paid trip to Dubai for whoever was champion that year to work for four of his trainers,” he recalls. 

“Thankfully that was me, and he did the same next year and luckily I won it again. So that's how it all started. It's amazing the path you take in life but I've been coming even since and I rode a lot of winners for the late Sheikh Hamdan and his family, and have continued to do so for his wider family. It has been a hugely successful place for me and my family, and without Sheikh Hamdan's initial invitation I might never have come here.”

With Covid having forced the abandonment of the Dubai World Cup in 2020, and then led to few people being in attendance last year, O'Shea was thrilled to have been able to record his biggest winner in front of a bumper crowd.

He says, “As big and as mesmerising as Meydan is to look at it was great to see so many people back in the stands. We love the crowd and the supporters, they mean everything, and it was a little bit dreary through Covid times with no crowd. 

“Switzerland was the only UAE winner on the night so the local crowd really got behind him. They are great supporters, and they erupted when he walked back in.”

He continues, “The only low point of the night was my horse in the Godolphin Mile, Al Nefud (GB), who was a warm favourite, but he never felt right to me and I ended up pulling him up and it turns out that he fractured his pelvis. Thankfully he's comfortable and he will recover. But the rest of the horses all ran with great credit, finishing second and fourth in the Derby and then Switzerland winning, and we were so proud of Remorse running sixth in the World Cup. It was a great night.”

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Bhupat Seemar, who is on track to this season's UAE training championship, said, “It's such a fantastic result. We've always really liked the horse. Tadgh and I spoke this morning and made a plan. I knew there would be plenty of pace in the race, so we wanted to pick up the pieces. Turning for home, Tadgh said, 'We'd just go with one kick.'”

O'Shea, who is on course for a 10th UAE champion jockey title, added, “There was a lot speed on and this horse excels in a truly run race. We were the outsider today and I said to Bhupat, 'Let's ride him accordingly.' There's no point putting him in the race and getting him in a speed duel, so we rode him like we did in the Al Garhoud Sprint [at Meydan on New Year's Day] and if he shows that turn of foot, he'd be competitive. Thankfully, it all worked and he's a horse who grew in confidence as the race went on. They were starting to stop and flounder and he was coming harder on the bridle–so it was fantastic.”

Yuga Kawada, aboard the runner-up in the last two renewals of the Shaheen, Red Le Zele, said “It was a good result. He likes to do his running at the back of the field in a 1200-metre race. That's just his style and he did the same here, and I had a very good feeling about him doing well going into this but there was too much ground to make up in the end. But, it was a good race and I'm happy with the way he went.”

A dual Grade III winner in the U.S. for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen during his sophomore year, Switzerland made a couple of trainer switches since, including a three-race stint with six-time champion trainer Satish Seemar for whom he won last year's G3 Dubawi S. at Meydan before transferring to his assistant and nephew for 2022. Kicking off the season an impressive winner in the Listed Al Garhoud Sprint, he was sixth under Adrie de Vries in his latest start in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint Feb. 26.

“He came back from Saudi Arabia with a dirty scope and he was drawn bad there,” explained O'Shea. “It was a shame I couldn't go and ride him there, but he's come back better than ever–I'd say that's a career best. It's my first Group 1 winner and I'm in the 40 club! I have a good mate Adrian Nicholls who said 'don't give up, it'll come'.”

The gelding also gave his first-term trainer his initial Group 1 victory since taking out his license last fall following his uncle's suspension.

“We'll look to bring him back next year. And you never know, even at eight there could be some more improvement in him,” added Seemar. “It's a fantastic team we have behind us and I need to thank so many people, I'm in a very privileged position.”

Pedigree Notes:
A $170,000 KEENOV weanling and $175,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, Switzerland flourished into a $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile buy. Bred by Branch Family Trust, he is the third foal out of SW Czechers (Indian Charlie), who also hit the board in a trio of Grade III turf tests in the U.S. The 17-year-old mare is also responsible for an unraced 3-year-old filly by Connect and a juvenile filly by Speightstown. Her most recent live foal, a full-brother to Switzerland, brought $350,000 at last fall's Keeneland November sale. This represents the extended family of GI Travers S. winner Willow Hour (Bold Hour). The victory gives Speightstown his 23 Group 1/Grade I victory.

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
DUBAI GOLDEN SHAHEEN SPONSORED BY ATLANTIS DUBAI-G1, $2,000,000, Meydan, 3-26, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:11.13, fs.
1–SWITZERLAND, 126, g, 8, by Speightstown
1st Dam: Czechers (MSW & MGSP-US, $298,349),
                                by Indian Charlie
2nd Dam: Pine Rob, by Pine Bluff
3rd Dam: Cherryrob, by Roberto
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. ($170,000 Wlg '14 KEENOV; $175,000 Ylg
'15 KEESEP; $500,000 2yo '16 FTMMAY). O-RRR Racing;
B-Branch Family Trust (KY); T-Bhupat Seemar; J-Tadhg O'Shea;
$1,160,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW-US, 27-8-3-4, $1,869,052.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+.
2–Red Le Zele (Jpn), 126, h, 6, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)–French Noir
(Jpn), by French Deputy. O-Tokyo Horse Racing Co Ltd;
B-Shadai Farm (JPN); T-Takayuki Yasuda. $400,000.
3–Dr. Schivel, 126, c, 4, Violence–Lil Nugget, by Mining For
Money. ($37,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEEJAN). O-Red Baron's Barn
LLC, Rancho Temescal et al; B-William A. Branch & Arnold R.
Hill (KY); T-Mark Glatt. $200,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HF, HD.
Also Ran: Chain of Love (Jpn), Eastern World (Ire), Strongconstitution, Drain the Clock, Everfast, Manjeer (Ire), Wondrwherecraigis, Al Tariq (Fr), Mobaadel, Good Effort (Ire). Scratched: Meraas (GB). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 

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Nick Smith, director of racing and public affairs at Ascot Racecourse, said, “We're thrilled with the jockey line up for the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup this year. Obviously COVID-19 has made international travel very difficult so to pull together such a strong set of teams that still has a global feel is really pleasing. It should be a great day's racing and another thrilling renewal of the competition which sadly didn't take place last year but we look forward to building the day back up in the years to come.”

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