Benbatl Set for Dirt Debut in Al Maktoum Challenge R2

Godolphin's Benbatl will make his much-anticipated first start on dirt Feb. 6 in the $450,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (G2) at Meydan for trainer Saeed bin Suroor.

While this experiment may have happened sooner if not for now-retired stablemate and two-time Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) winner Thunder Snow, its timing is no less potent, as the son of leading local dirt sire Dubawi and grandson of Dubai World Cup winner Dubai Millennium appears in career form following a dominant comeback in January's Singspiel Stakes Presented by Longines Master Collection (G2) over a grassy nine furlongs.

"He's in good form and worked really well last Thursday," Bin Suroor said. "This is a test for him to see if he can handle the dirt and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed made the decision to run him and see if he's going to like the dirt. He works very well on the all-weather Tapeta at Al Quoz (training center), but that is Tapeta. On Thursday, it'll be his first time on dirt, so we will see."

Bin Suroor has won an incredible 11 of 26 editions of Round 2, including with subsequent Dubai World Cup winners Thunder Snow and Moon Ballad—the latter a group 2-winning turf horse who won three of his five dirt tries. Still, the dice have never been rolled with such high stakes, as Benbatl is a group 1 winner on three continents and earner of $5,445,731.

"He needed the (Singspiel) and has improved from the race," Bin Suroor said. "That race was just to get him fit and he is ready to try the dirt. There's no excuse now that he's had a run and is fit. He's an easy horse to train; a proper horse who has won in England, Germany, Australia, and Dubai. Just a class horse."