Heavy Metal all the way in Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1

Heavy Metal is an 8-year-old who made his career debut in March 2012 at Doncaster Racecourse in England. Almost six years later and several thousand miles away, Heavy Metal looked like he was in the full bloom of youth, romping to a 4 1/2-length score over the favored Thunder Snow in the Group 2, $250,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1, the featured race on opening night of the Dubai World Cup Carnival.

Heavy Metal went straight to the front under Mickael Barzalona, led while going easily along the rail, shrugged off a mild challenge with about three furlongs to run, and had put this race to bed with a quarter-mile still left to travel.

Thunder Snow, who won the UAE Derby last spring on the World Cup card, then failed to complete even a furlong of the Kentucky Derby, never really had a chance, caught out wide while stalking Heavy Metal’s very comfortable pace.

Heavy Metal is a gelding by Exceed and Excel and out of Rock Opera, by Lecture. He won for the sixth time in Dubai while visiting the winner’s circle for the 13th time in his long, varied career. Heavy Metal ran 1,600 meters, his best trip, in 1:37.80 over a fast dirt track. North America blew the start, was caught wide throughout, and did well to get third.

Salem bin Ghadyer trains Heavy Metal for Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al Maktoum, and those same connections teamed with Barzalona earlier on the card as Frankyfourfingers made short work of a high-end handicap race over 2,000 meters on dirt. As with Heavy Metal, Barzalona put Frankyfourfingers right on the lead, and the pair just cruised to a 9 1/4-length win over Storm Belt.

Ertijaal, racing for the first time since a third-place finish last March in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint, won a 1,000-meter turf handicap by a half-length over Hit the Bid in the card’s first Thoroughbred race. Ertijaal clocked a fast 56.02 on good ground running down the Meydan straight course. The top two were much the best, with Hit the Bid more than three lengths in front of third-place Dutch Masterpiece, and Ertijaal held firm in the final half-furlong despite conceding just less than 10 pounds to Hit the Bid.

Ertijaal, a 7-year-old Oasis Dream gelding trained by Ali Rashid al Rayhi for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, has been close to unbeatable in 1,000-meter Meydan turf sprints, but unfortunately for his connections, the Al Quoz was lengthened from 1,000 to 1,200 meters last year.

The 4-year-old Benbatl, racing over an 1,800-meter distance probably short of his best, won his Dubai debut by capturing the Group 3, $175,000 Singspiel Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths over Emotionless. One of two turf-route winners on the card for Godolphin, Benbatl tracked the leaders under Oisin Murphy, made the lead in upper stretch, and never was challenged, going the trip of about 1 1/8 miles in a snappy 1:46.99. Benbatl should be a force in the next couple months in turf stakes, but it’s possible neither of the two World Cup card races, the 1,800-meter Dubai Turf or the 2,400-meter Sheema Classic, will really suit Benbatl, who could be best over 2,000 meters.