Mnasek Snares UAE Oaks, Could Head for U.S.

If Dubai's best 3-year-old filly is in Saudi Arabia this weekend, someone forgot to tell Mnasek.

Mnasek, a Kentucky-bred filly by Empire Maker, made a joke of the stretch run in the UAE Oaks Sponsored by New Jaguar F-Type (G3) Feb. 18 at Meydan Racecourse. After tracking the early speed, jockey Patrick Dobbs steered Mnasek around her rivals and jetted away to win by 6 1/2 lengths, geared down.

Nayefah, a Super Saver  filly, was second, 2 1/2 lengths better than Last Sunset as Mnasek finished 1,900 meters (about 1 3/16 miles) in 1:59.18.

Mnasek missed the start badly in the UAE One Thousand Guineas Presented by Longines Jan. 28 and could only improve enough to finish second, 7 lengths adrift of Soft Whisper, a budding superstar for Godolphin and trainer Saeed bin Suroor.

Soft Whisper immediately was touted for the UAE Oaks and Derby but was detoured to Riyadh, where she is expected to be a significant factor in the $1.5 million Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Derby Feb. 20.

"She's one of the best fillies I've had on the dirt," bin Suroor said of Soft Whisper, a Godolphin homebred. "I've won the Guineas 12 times, and she won it very well and is a top filly."

Bin Suroor said he expects to have Soft Whisper in the starting gate for the UAE Derby (G2) on World Cup night, March 27. Mnasek's conditioner, Doug Watson, said he's not sure about hooking up with the rival filly there and suggested an alternative.

"I don't know if this performance will get her an invite to the UAE Derby," Watson said. "A lot of times it does. If that is the case, we will have to see if the owners want to run there. If not, she needs to go to America.

"She is just learning her craft now, and I love the way she broke tonight," Watson said. "She wasn't over keen with the kickback, but once she was out of it she traveled well and won nicely."

The Oaks was only one of several graded stakes on the fifth night of the World Cup Carnival, with just two programs remaining.

D'Bai continued an excellent Carnival run for Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby, and jockey William Buick with a deep-stretch effort in the Zabeel Mile Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors (G2) that saw him home first by a head over First Contact. D'Bai, a 7-year-old Dubawi gelding, was coming off a second-place finish in his seasonal debut at Meydan.

"He needs things to fall right for him," Buick said of D'Bai. "I think he did well there, to come off a slow pace. He had a lot of ground to make up and he did it. On his day he is a pretty decent horse."

Godolphin scored again in the Balanchine Sponsored by Range Rover (G2) at 1,800 meters on the turf as Summer Romance, with James Doyle up for Appleby, won by 2 1/4 lengths over Stylistique. Summer Romance, a 4-year-old Kingman filly, reported in 1:48.47 while winning for the first time since the Investec Princess Elizabeth Stakes (G3) at Epsom on the Fourth of July.

Appleby went out of his way to praise Doyle and Buick for their commitment and work ethic.

"I am in the fortunate position to have William and James there who come and ride out and know the horses inside out, which makes such a difference on race night on what they need to try and do, and tonight it has gone right for James and Summer Romance," the trainer said.

Equilateral, under Andrea Atzeni, was away well in the 1,000-meter (about 5 furlongs) Meydan Sprint Sponsored by Land Rover (G2), pressured all the way down the Meydan turf straight and held at the end, winning by one length. Acklam Express was up for second with A'Ali third.

Equilateral, a 6-year-old Equiano gelding trained by Charlie Hills, finished in :57.25. The effort backed up his first-up win over the same course and distance Jan. 21.

"He was traveling easily and I didn't want to stop his momentum, so I just went with him," Atzeni said. "He got to the front early enough, and he kept going right until the line."

New Trails, winless in eight starts over the past two years and racing for the first time in nearly a year, spurted through between the leaders in the final furlong to snatch a huge upset win in the Curlin Stakes Sponsored by New Jaguar-F-Pace at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) on the dirt. The Medaglia d'Oro  7-year-old scored by two lengths with a pair of Godolphin runners, Dubai Icon and Real World, second and third, respectively.

New Trails, trained by Ahmad bin Harmash, was last seen finishing sixth in the 2020 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) last March 7. His last victory was in January 2019.

"It was a first run of the season, and you can never be sure of a first run," said New Trails' rider, Fernando Jara. "But I am not surprised at his performance. He is a nice horse and, when he gets it right, he has class and is right up there with all these horses."