uae 2000 guineas | Horse Racing Free Tips

Flatter Colt Up Late For Guineas Score

Mouheeb (Flatter) was a $400,000 selection at last June's OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds In Training, and started out with plenty of expectation riding on his shoulders being a full-brother to the GII Swale S. scorer and GI Champagne S. and GI Malibu S.-placed Favorable Outcome (Flatter), and a half-brother to the listed-winning and multiple graded placed Bellamentary (Bellamy Road). Mouheeb got off the mark on debut on Dec. 18 in a Jebel Ali maiden before finishing a head second to Godolphin's dual winner Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial on Jan. 14, and went one better in his stakes debut in Thursday's G3 UAE 2000 Guineas. Breaking on the rail under Ryan Curatolo, Mouheeb was content to let Meshakel (Ire) (Shamardal) set the tempo, with Godolphin's top-rated Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire} splitting them. About three lengths separated the trio as they ran into the bend, with Mouheeb poised three wide upon straightening. Mouheeb came with a sustained rally under a drive down the middle of the course, and though he may have given his backers a few anxious moments, he reeled in a game Meshakel in the dying strides to win by a neck. Naval Crown stuck on for third, 6 3/4 lengths clear of the remainder of the field.

Curatolo, who was riding his first winner at Meydan, said, “This win means everything to me, I want to thank god, and the connections. The horse proved that he was the best today. He is a very talented horse, and last time we almost got there. He is a bit inexperienced, but he is getting better with time. The trainer did a very good job with him and his rider in the morning did a good job as well, because he can be quite difficult. Today he was more relaxed before the race, and that was good. This is a super special moment for me tonight, I am very pleased for the people who gave me the opportunity, and hopefully I can maintain that. I think this horse can go a bit longer, and his trainer will see what is best for him.”

Pedigree Notes

Mouheeb is the sixth foal out of the Listed Finger Lakes Juvenile Fillies S. winner Shananies Song (Eltish), who had previously produced the aforementioned Favorable Outcome and Bellamentary, and who has a 2-year-old filly by Gun Runner and a yearling son of Candy Ride (Arg).

Thursday, Meydan, Dubai
UAE 2000 GUINEAS SPONSORED BY HAMDAN BIN MOHAMMED CRUISE TERMINAL-G3, $125,000, Meydan, 2-4, 3yo, 8f, 1:36.46, fs.
1–MOUHEEB, 126, c, 3, by Flatter
1st Dam: Shananies Song (SW-US, $158,270), by Eltish
2nd Dam: Shananies Presence, by Shananie
3rd Dam: Presenting, by President (Fr)
1ST STAKES WIN. ($400,000 2yo '20 OBSJUN). O-Sheikh
Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Charles T. Matses (KY);
T-Nicholas Bachalard; J-Ryan Curatolo. $75,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-2-1-0, $96,805. *Full to Favorable Outcome, GSW &
MG1SP-US, $215,059; 1/2 to Bellamentary (Bellamy Road), SW
& MGSP-US, $216,200. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Meshakel (Ire), 126, c, 3, Shamardal–Mehronissa (GB) by
Iffraaj (GB). (500,000gns Ylg '19 TAOCT). O/T-Salem Rashid
Ghadayer; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE). $25,000.
3–Naval Crown (GB), 126, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Come Alive (GB),
by Dansili (GB). O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charlie Appleby.
$12,500.
Margins: NK, 3 3/4, 6 3/4. Also Ran: Grand Dubai (Ire), Zhou Storm (GB), Uncle Hamed.
Click for the Racing Post result. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.

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Mouheeb, Naval Crown Headline Thursday’s UAE 2,000 Guineas

Thursday's second classic of the Dubai season, the Group 3 $125,000 UAE 2000 Guineas, has drawn a solid sextet, led by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Jebel Ali Racecourse-based Mouheeb and Godolphin's Naval Crown. The 1600m (one mile) affair goes as the evening's third of six races.

Three weeks ago, Mouheeb valiantly battled leading local sophomore Rebel's Romance to a short head in the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial over this one-mile layout. On the merits of such, he is the co-favorite in this, despite his 95 official rating landing nine pounds short of Charlie Appleby-conditioned Naval Crown.

A well-bred sort for these conditions, the son of Flatter is a brother to Swale (G3) winner and dual G1-placed Favorable Outcome. He commenced his career with a one-sided win up the Jebel Ali hill over a straight six furlongs before closing resolutely in his aforementioned runner-up effort on Jan. 14.

“Mouheeb has trained well,” trainer Nicholas Bachalard said. “He had a tough race last time, but I think he's bounced out of it very well. It's going to be a tactical race with a small field, which is not ideal, but I think he will run well. He finished up his race well last time over this distance, so maybe if he runs well, we will consider the UAE Derby going forward. On pedigree, it looks like he's a miler, but sometimes it just depends on the competition.”

Naval Crown has more seasoning, with five starts in 2020, and is a son of UAE's top sire of winners, Dubawi, who has already sired Saudi Derby-bound Rebel's Romance and the winner of last weeks' UAE 1000 Guineas (Listed), Soft Whisper. An impressive winner at Yorkshire Ebor at third asking and a respectable third to Chindit in July as a maiden, he exits a pair of thirds in G3 company in France. His placing in the Prix la Rochette (G3) was especially flattering, as runner-up Sealiway went on to win the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1) and both he and the winner, Go Athletico, subsequently contested the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1).

“Naval Crown is a solid little horse,” trainer Charlie Appleby said. “We toyed with the idea of sticking to the turf, but his homework on our dirt (at Marmoom Stables) is very good. The question mark would obviously be the trip—it will be his maximum, this mile, but what he brings is a certain level of class off the European form and race experience. As a rule, he shows good gate speed, so he does tick a few boxes going into it. The question marks are the (Meydan) dirt and that trip, but there's only one Guineas out there and we'll have a crack at it.”

Appleby also gave an update on the barn's leading dirt sophomore: “Rebel's Romance is in good form and obviously the plan is for him to head to Saudi for the Derby on the 20th. He's done well since his run and we're looking forward to taking him over there.”

The remaining quartet in the Guineas is topped by one-sided maiden victor Meshakel, who is owned and trained by UAE's leading conditioner Salem bin Ghadayer and cost $640,654 at auction. The Ali Rashid Al Rayhi-trained pair of Zhou Storm and Grand Dubai—who have three local wins between them—must be respected in here, as well, while trainer Doug Watson starts good-looking Tapiture maiden Uncle Hamed, who has a pair of seconds from three starts and should appreciate the up in trip.

Zhou Storm sparked the imagination with a pair of smart victories over the Meydan surface, but failed to match strides when third in the Trial by seven lengths. Grand Dubai, who races for his trainer, wheels back on one week's rest after finishing 10th in the Al Bastakiya Trial over 9.5 furlongs. He owns a victory over this course and distance three starts back on Dec. 17. Adrie de Vries rides Grand Dubai, while Maxime Guyon, who recently brought his tack to Dubai for the remainder of the winter, rides Elbashir Salem Elhrari's Zhou Storm.

Al Rayhi said, courtesy of a translator: “They're doing very well. Grand Dubai is in good form. Zhou is doing well and won his two starts, but last time there was a strong pace in the beginning and he didn't finish. This distance will suit him, hopefully, and with a smaller field, which should help him to get his position and then kick like he did (in his wins). We tried to get Maxime to ride for us a couple years ago for the season, but it didn't happen, so when Connor decided to go back (to the UK) because of the lockdown situation, it seemed a good opportunity to give Maxime some rides, since he's here now.

“Grand Dubai has come out of his run last week very well and has shown he is happy,” Al Rayhi continued. “Coming off a race, we're coming in very easy this week, but he has not shown that he is tired. I think he will run well.”

Watson is confident that Abdul Mohsen Al Abdul Kareem's Uncle Hamed will improve over a course more similar to the oval he trains on at home. All three of his starts have come up the hill at Jebel Ali over a straight sprint.

“We're giving him the visor for the first time and I know there's speed in the race,” Watson said. “It's also a nice, small field and I think he wants this trip. I like our horse to run a big race if he likes Meydan and I think he will. We gelded him just before his last race and (jockey) Pat Dobbs said he's been a different horse since then. He's a neat little horse and I would love to see him run a big race in the Guineas.”

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‘Exceptional’ Workouts Have Fore Left Ready For Belmont Stakes

Trainer Doug O'Neill has been highly impressed with the way Fore Left has been training, which is why he decided to alter course with the son of Twirling Candy and enter in the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

Owned by Reddam Racing, Fore Left has been training forwardly at Belmont Park alongside a string of about a dozen horses that the southern California-based conditioner has kept in New York. In his first work over the Elmont oval, Fore Left drilled through five furlongs in 59.05 seconds over the main track on June 4.

Fore Left has recorded one start in 2020, which was an overseas stakes triumph in the Group 3 United Arab Emirates 2000 Guineas on February 5 at Meydan Racecourse. No stranger to stakes success over Big Sandy, Fore Left won the Tremont as a 2-year-old last season on the eve of the Belmont Stakes.

To properly account for the schedule adjustments and overall calendar for 3-year-olds in training, the race will be run at a distance of 1 1/8-miles, as opposed to its usual 1 1/2-mile distance. O'Neill believes that the distance change of the race will be to his horse's benefit.

“His last two works over the track were exceptional,” O'Neill said. “He's settled in well over there and he has a win over the track. He's just maturing into a really nice 3-year-old and I think that a one-turn mile and an eighth is going to be great for him. He wouldn't be up for a mile and a half right now.”

Of the three American Classics, the Belmont Stakes is the only one which O'Neill has not yet won. He won the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby twice with I'll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016) with the former of the two winning the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes in his respective year.

O'Neill's lone Belmont Stakes starter was Blended Citizen, who ran ninth in 2018 to Triple Crown-winner Justify.

“It's one of the most prestigious races and even family and friends with very little to no knowledge of racing is familiar with the Belmont Stakes and it's an honor to be a part of it,” O'Neill said. “It's on all of our bucket lists and Paul and Zillah are pumped to have a horse good enough to compete. More than anything, we're just listening to the horse and he's showing us that he's ready.”

Boasting a consistent 9-4-0-2 record, Fore Left has won all four of his starts in wire-to-wire fashion. O'Neill said that the horse doesn't have to have the lead in Saturday's test, but that he will be in the front tier of horses in the early portion of the race.

“He's got gate speed and he'll without a doubt be forwardly placed. I like the fact that we drew the outside to some opposing speed in the race,” O'Neill said.

Fore Left spent the winter in Dubai, where O'Neill kept a small string of horses. The trainer praised the horse's maturation and development during his time in the Middle East.

“He came back fantastic,” O'Neill said. “We had around 12 horses over there for about three months. As opposed to a usual trip to Dubai where you ship in for the week and then ship out, he was over there for quite a while and he's really flourished and matured with his time out there.”

Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Fore Left is out of the Unbridled's Song broodmare Simply Sunny. He will receive the riding services of Jose Ortiz, who guided Tapwrit to victory in the 2017 Belmont Stakes.

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O’Neill: Now Is The Time ‘To Take A Shot’ With Fore Left In Belmont Stakes

Fore Left, originally scheduled to run in Saturday's Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard, will now be rerouted to the day's main event, trainer Doug O'Neill told the Daily Racing Form.

The 3-year-old son of Twirling Candy was a part of O'Neill's first-ever Dubai-based string, and won the Group 3 UAE 2,000 Guineas back in February. He had been pointing to the UAE Derby before that race was cancelled due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

At Belmont for several weeks, Fore Left has had two breezes over the main track and has been progressing well off the four-month layoff, O'Neill said. The colt won the listed Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park as a 2-year-old, and is four-for-nine lifetime with earnings over $350,000.

“If we're ever going to take a shot with him, he's telling us that now is the time,” O'Neill told the Daily Racing Form. “He's coming off a real strong performance in Dubai. We really like the one turn, 1 1/8-mile layout and the lack of a lot of speed projected in there.”