Hunter's Light among 10 in Dubai Millennium Stakes

Hunter’s Light, a Group 1 winner in Dubai and Italy who was seventh in the 2014 Arlington Million at Arlington Park, leads a field of 10 in Thursday’s $200,000 Dubai Millennium Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

Owned by the Maktoum family’s Godolphin Racing, Hunter’s Light won a minor handicap at Meydan on Jan. 29, the first start for the 7-year-old Irish-bred since an eighth-place finish behind Just a Way in the $5 million Dubai Duty Free on the Dubai World Cup program last March. James Doyle will ride Hunter’s Light, who is trained by Saaed bin Suroor.

Earlier in his career, Hunter’s Light won the Group 1 Premio Roma in Italy in 2012 and the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge (Round Three) at Meydan in 2013. He was seventh behind Animal Kingdom in the 2013 Dubai World Cup.

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The Dubai Millennium field includes Calling Out, who was third in the Group 2 Prix Dollar at Longchamp last October; Bank of Burden, a multiple group stakes winner from Scandinavia; and Mr Pommeroy, who was third in the Group 2 Al Rashidiya Stakes at Meydan on Jan. 29.

The $200,000 Balanchine Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf is part of Thursday’s Meydan program. The race marks a rematch of the first two finishers of the Group 2 Cape Verdi Stakes for fillies and mares Jan. 29 – Cladocera and Zurigha. Cladocera was a stakes winner in France in 2014. Zurigha was a minor stakes winner in England in 2013.