Super Saturday Proves Worthy Preview of World Cup Night

A few bright stars shone under the desert sky March 5 on Super Saturday at Meydan, pointing the way toward the riches on offer three weeks down the road on the March 26 Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (G1) program.

Hypothetical  flashed brilliance in making his case for the World Cup. And Storm Damage  could be headed for a summer career in England after leading home a Godolphin 1-2-3-4 finish in a tough turf sprint in evening highlights.

Along the way, U.S.-based trainer Doug O'Neill, who has enjoyed singular success through the first seven weeks of the World Cup Carnival, hit a sand dune as his horses were victimized twice by abysmal draws and then by a slow start.

The evening's feature was the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), a dress rehearsal for local runners targeting the $12 million World Cup March. It ran to form as Hypothetical, a 4-year-old son of Lope de Vega , went right to the lead for jockey Mickael Barzalona and never looked back, winning by a length.

⭐️ Hypothetical wins the Group One Al Maktoum Challenge R3 Sponsored By Emirates Airline for @mickaelbarzalon & @SalemGhadayer in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum#DWC22 | #DWCCarnival | #RacingDubai pic.twitter.com/2SH3Xzm0Ck

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 5, 2022

Hypothetical, trained by Salem bin Ghadayer for Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, made it two straight wins after taking the Firebreak Stakes Presented by Longines Conquest (G3) in his previous start, going a mile. The trainer said after the World Cup, options are open, including a potential trip to North America.

"It is my fondest hope," he said. "But it's up to the boss."

Remorse  and Everfast  finished second and third in Round 3. O'Neill's two starters, Go On  and the well-fancied Appreciated , finished fifth and eighth, respectively, the former in a dead heat with Salute the Solider. Appreciated was off a beat slowly and raced last through the early stages of the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4 miles) event.

The co-featured Jebel Hatta Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1T) at 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) on turf, a prep for the $5 million Dubai Turf (G1) on World Cup night, returned a bunch of long shots after a slow early pace compromised the better-regarded closers.

Alfareeq  raced comfortably behind the lead pack, split rivals at mid-stretch, and got home first, 1 1/4 lengths to the good of Finest Sound . Ursa Minor  was third and the favorite, Carnival veteran Lord Glitters , got his usual late rally going in the final furlongs but couldn't overcome the pace scenario, finishing sixth.

Afareeq, a 5-year-old Dark Angel  gelding, was second in the Zabeel Mile Presented by Emaar Beachfront (G2T) in his previous start. Trainer Musabbeh Al Mheiri didn't specify where Alfareeq might surface next. The Shadwell homebred did not contest the major races at the 2021 Carnival.

Storm Damage, a 4-year-old Night of Thunder  gelding, accelerated through the stretch to land the Ras Al Khor at 1,400 meters (about 7 furlongs) on the turf in a romp for Godolphin-owned horses. The distance does not have a counterpart on World Cup night, and trainer Saeed bin Suroor said he is "not ruling out" switching Storm Damage to dirt for a shot at the Godolphin Mile (G2) with Royal Ascot in mind for later.

The Al Bastakiya sponsored by Emirates Holidays produced a potential candidate for the UAE Derby (G2) in Quality Boone . Although he was bred in South America, the son of Daniel Boone  has some North American blood on the female side of his pedigree. He is out of the Crafty Prospector  mare Quindici .

With Vagner Leal up, the Antonio Cintra Pereira-trained Quality Boone settled near the rear of the field, launched his bid on the sweeping turn, and easily ran by the early speed to score by 1 1/4 lengths. Withering  was second and Bendoog  third. O'Neill's hope in the Al Bastakiya, Get Back Goldie , was drawn No. 11 in a field of 12 and was used up getting to a challenging position and faded to finish sixth.

O'Neill said he thought Get Back Goldie tried hard and said he would re-evaluate his best distance, adding, "He's still young, still maturing. We'll see where he goes."

The Burj Nahaar Sponsored by Emirates SkyCargo (G3) points to the $1 million Godolphin Mile but did little clarify the picture for that race as Desert Wisdom , at long odds in the international pools, was along in the late going to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Mubakker , with favored Tuz  third. Desert Wisdom, a 4-year-old Dubawi  gelding, scored his second win of the Dubai season from five starts.

The Burj Nahaar was another hard-luck story for O'Neill and his assistant Leandro Mora as Strongconstitution , an excellent second in his desert debut, was drawn in the No. 12 stall, forced to race wide, and tried hard but could only finish fifth.

Adding insult to injury for O'Neill and Morra, Notre Dame , an Into Mischief   colt who won his previous start at Meydan, was eased through the lace in the evening's finale, the Mahab Al Shimaal Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G3), a 1,200-meter (about 6 furlongs) dirt sprint won by Eastern World .

"They all ran well," Mora said. "But it's hard to win starting from the car park. We take consolation in the way they ran, and we're happy we're here and have had success."