Gladiator King lands Dubawi Stakes on DWC Carnival opening night

Trainer Satish Seemar maintained his stranglehold on the Dubawi Stakes as Gladiator King, with jockey Mickael Barzalona aboard, sprinted to victory by a margin of a neck in 1200m $ 200,000 Group 3 race on the opening night of the Dubai World Cup (DWC) Carnival on Thursday.         

Barzalona said: “We knew the race wasn’t going to be easy, but he was sharp and looked great. I think he will come on a lot from this race, so I’m looking forward to next time.

“On the bend, I was travelling really comfortably and I knew he was a danger. I knew Drafted would be coming from behind, but he found an extra gear. He travels strong.”

Satish said: “You know, when you first get a horse,  there’s always a little worry and a little doubt, but this horse was training so well and really coming around. It feels great to get a win for Sheikh Rashid.”

Second place went to Ibn Malik, who was ridden by Jim Crowley, while highly favorite Drafted finished third under jockey Pat Dobbs.

Crowely said: “He ran really well. Obviously, he had the worst draw in nine and he probably covered a bit more ground than the winner did. Good run. It is nice that he is back in here and we’ll look ahead to some nice runs together.”

Drafted jockey Dobbs said: “He ran super and was just a bit ring-rusty early. He got away slow and they got away from me. He took loads of kickback, which he doesn’t like. I thought I could maybe still get there, but he got tired the last furlong. He picked up really good, but he obviously missed a few weeks and felt that in the last furlong.”

Major Partnership, trained by Saeed Bin Suroor and ridden by Pat Cosgrave, landed glory at the 1400m  $175,000 Meydan Challenge by a margin of 1½ Lengths ahead of second place Zainhom in 1:23.33 minutes. Suedois, who was the other top contender for the race finished third.

Cosgrave said: “I think he’s a better horse this year. He looks better, feels better and moves better. I had a lovely run down the fence and it worked out nicely.”

Richard Mullen steered David Simcock-trained Universal Order to victory by 1¼ Lengths at the 2410m $175,000, Dubai Racing Classic in 2:31.36 ahead of Pablo Escobarr.

Mullen said: “I watched his replays this morning and he seems to have his best runs in small fields. You just have to drop him out and give him time to relax, because if you put him in the race, he gets tense.

“He’s still learning about the game. I think potentially bringing him out him will be the making of him. The whole atmosphere is relaxing and will make a man of him.

“I let the race develop as it happened and felt that they went an even tempo. I switched him off early and gave him time to relax. This horse has potential and a bright future.”

The pair of Suroor and Soumillon notch up another victory for Godolphin as Final Song sprinted to victory at the 1400m $100,000 UAE 1000 Guineas Trial. He defeated Down On Da Bayou of the US by 1¾ Lengths in 1:24.44 minutes.

Soumillon said: “With that draw, it’s never easy for a filly like her. (It was her) first time on dirt and we knew she had some speed.

“I tried to work with that, but unfortunately two or three horses from the inside tried to keep their position, so I was about four-wide.

“I gave her a little chance on the turn and didn’t want to go too wide. She took the kickback in the face and responded really well to it. In the straight, I took a shortcut and it worked well.

“For her, if you really want to know if she can go further, it was a good idea to (take her back) and see what she can do. Today she handled the best fillies in town and I’m sure she will handle 200m more (in the Listed $250,000 UAE 1000 Guineas on Jan.23).”