Catstar captures UAE Guineas

Catstar, a Storm Cat filly running for the first time since June, was a comfortable winner of the UAE 1000 Guineas at Nad Al Sheba on Saturday night. She set the pace under Frankie Dettori and finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Menhoubah in a field of eight.

All four runnings of the race have been won by fillies owned by Godolphin and trained by Saeed bin Suroor. Although the race does not carry international stakes status, the winner earned $162,500.

Both Catstar and Menhoubah had placed in group races in England last year. Catstar was second to Attraction in the Group 3 Queen Mary Stakes over five furlongs at Royal Ascot. She was tiring at the end of Saturday's mile but had taken enough of a lead when she quickened clear with more than two furlongs remaining that she could not be overtaken.

John Oxx and Michael Kinane, a trainer-jockey partnership formed at the end of last year, gained their first success when D'Anjou got up inside the final furlong to take the Group 3 Al Fahidi Fort Stakes. The 7-year-old D'Anjoui finished 2 1/2 lengths ahead of another Irish invader, One More Round, and earned $97,500.