Godolphin 1-2-3 in UAE Guineas Trial
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Photo: Dubai Racing Club/Cedric Lane
Soft Whisper wins the UAE One Thousand Guineas Trial at Meydan Racecourse
The new year brings a renewal of the Dubai World Cup Carnival—more than two months of internationally fueled racing that leads to the March 27 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airlines (G1).
The home team is already fired up.
The Carnival itself kicks off Jan. 21 But Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Godolphin operation served notice—if any is needed—with an impressive showing in the featured race of the Jan. 7 program at Meydan Racecourse, the UAE One Thousand Guineas Trial Presented by Longines.
The Guineas Trial attracted 11 entries but only 10 went to the post after the late scratch of the highly regarded Charles Fipke homebred Super Chianti, a Super Saver filly who won her first start over the Meydan strip Nov. 19. That left half of the field carrying the Godolphin blue silks and three of those paraded past the judge in the first three finishing slots.
Soft Whisper, a Dubawi filly, missed the break badly for jockey Patrick Cosgrave, recovered between horses to take up a stalking position in mid-pack, and then rallied to the lead by mid-stretch. She drew off impressively to win by 2 1/2 lengths over Last Sunset with Final Thought completing the blue wave in third.
Saeed bin Suroor trains all of the top three finishers as well as Late Morning, who finished seventh. The fifth Godolphin runner, Charlie Appleby charge Looktotherainbow, got home eighth for jockey William Buick.
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Soft Whisper, out of the Sea The Stars mare Placidia, got the 1,400 meters (about 7 furlongs) in 1:26.72. She finished second in her first two starts in England in July and August, broke through at Salisbury Aug. 21, and then won again a month later at Pontefract.
"I rode her in her first race at Salisbury and managed to get her beat," Cosgrave said. "I ended up phoning Saeed to apologize as we thought she would win. She took a bit of time to get her act together, but has improved from each race and that was a good prep. The 1,600 (meters—about 1 mile) will suit her better and she will have learned plenty having had some dirt kicked at her.
"I could not pull her up which bodes well not only for the UAE One Thousand Guineas but hopefully the UAE Oaks as well. That was a good effort."
Soft Whisper and her connections in the winner's circle after the UAE 1000 Guineas Trial
Last Sunset, a Teofilo filly, was a well-beaten fourth in the Bentley Motors Nursery Handicap at Newmarket last time out. Final Thought, by Sea The Stars, won on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in her most recent start Sept. 14.
The victory was Godolphin's only score on the card. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, jockey Connor Beasley, and trainer Ali Rashid Al Rayhi enjoyed a double as Taamol won the first Thoroughbred event of the evening at 1,200 meters (about 6 furlongs) on the dirt and Eqtiraan got away to a 4-length win in the next race at 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) on the turf.
The Jan. 14 program at Meydan includes the UAE Two Thousand Guineas Trial at 1,600 meters.
The 2020 Carnival ended with a fizzle rather than a bang as the World Cup program was canceled on short notice while the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the Middle East. The economic ravages wrought by that scourge prompted some purse reductions for this year's March 27 card but the World Cup itself retains its $12 million prize structure.