Godolphin Has Red Letter Day in Dubai

Color the Meydan winner's circle blue, Godolphin blue more precisely, as Sheikh Mohammed's racing pipeline provided a steady supply of horses to win five of the six Thoroughbred races on the Jan. 26 card.

That number included both group 2 stakes of the day: the Al Rashidiya Empowered by IPIC and the Cape Verdi Empowered by CEPSA, an IPIC Group Company.

Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby racked the first win, an about 12-furlong handicap, with Gold Trail, an Irish-bred son of Teofilo (Galileo), who took the win by a length from Prize Money, another wearing the Godolphin blue but trained by Saeed bin Suroor.

Suroor evened the playing field in the nine-furlong Al Rashidiya with Promising Run, the lone filly in the field of seven that was making her 2017 debut.

Breaking from post 4, the 4-year-old daughter of Hard Spun   (Danzig) ridden by Jim Crowley raced mid-pack as Mike de Kock's South African grade 2 winner Light The Lights (Western Winter) led until Promising Run passed him within the final furlong to win by a half-length. Kentucky-bred Earnshaw (Medaglia d'Oro  ) finished third.  

Bred by Darley in Kentucky out of the Brazilian group 1 winner and group 1 producer Aviacion (Know Heights), Promising Run has been a bit of a globetrotter in her brief career.

At 2 she took the Shadwell Rockfel Stakes (G2) at Newmarket and after wintering in Dubai, where she ran second in the UAE One Thousand Guineas Sponsored by Friday, added the group 3 International Istanbul Trophy at Veliefendi. The bay filly has earnings of $445,367 from her four wins and four placings in 13 starts.

Trading wins, Appleby gained the upper hand when his Kentucky-bred Fly At Dawn posted a one-length victory in Meydan's prep for the UAE 2,000 Guineas.

The 3-year-old son of Discreet Cat—Emirates Girl, by Unbridled's Song, ran the seven furlongs on the dirt track in 1:24.28. Fellow Kentucky-bred Cosmo Charlie (Stay Thirsty  ) finished second, more than six lengths ahead of bin Suroor-trained Godolphin runner Top Score (Hard Spun).

A field of 10 fillies and mares went to post in the Cape Verdi, contested over eight furlongs of Meydan's turf track. At the end of the 1:37.21 trip, Godolphin's Very Special, conditioned by bin Suroor, had a half-length advantage over Opal Tiara (Thousand Words), with Muffri'Ha (Iffraj) another neck behind.

Ballylinch Stud bred Very Special in Ireland, and John Ferguson bought the chestnut daughter of Lope de Vega (Shamardal) for $473,252 out of the Tattersalls October yearling sale. Her dam, the Danehill mare Danielli, also produced Chriselliam (Iffraaj), who won the 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Santa Anita Park and the Shadwell Fillies Mile (G1T) at Newmarket. 

Very Special also won the Cape Verdi last year and in 10 starts has only once finished worse than third. She has earnings of $635,274. Her Cape Verdi victory also gave bin Suroor his 200th win at the Dubai World Cup Carnival, making him its most successful trainer.

In the final race on the Meydan card, Appleby runners led a Godolphin exacta, as 8-year-old Baccarat (Dutch Art) outfinished his younger stablemate, 5-year-old Jungle Cat (Iffraaj), by a neck.