Rey de Oro must relax early to win Sheema Classic

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Past the finish in the Japan Cup last Nov. 26, one could see the froth around the mouth of Rey de Oro, who just had run a fine race to finish second of 17 to Cheval Grand. Cheval Grand had gotten a sweet inside trip, while Rey de Oro was forced to come wide, but that froth suggested another reason for Rey de Oro’s defeat – a tendency to pull too hard.

He did so again when finishing third Feb. 11 in the Kyoto Kinen, but that was Rey de Oro’s 4-year-old debut, a stepping-stone to Saturday’s Group 1, $6 million Sheema Classic at Meydan. If Rey de Oro will turn off, he can get up.

“When he’s relaxed during the race, he’s able to quicken very well, but sometimes he’s a bit keen” said jockey Christophe Lemaire.

Rey de Oro, trained by Kazuo Fujisawa for the U Carrot Farm racing syndicate, surely is as talented as any of the other nine entrants in the Sheema, a 2,400-meter (about 1 1/2 miles) grass race. By King Kamehameha, Rey de Oro won the Japanese Derby last May in sparkling fashion, making a sharp early move under Lemaire to reach contention and then finishing off his foes with a second run in the homestretch.

“He was very good this morning when I worked him,” Lemaire said Wednesday after Rey de Oro had completed an eye-catching five-furlong turf drill. “He won on the Tokyo racetrack, which is much the same as the one here. I think this track will be perfect for him.”

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Rey de Oro generally breaks slowly, and Lemaire will let him settle into an easy stride, trying to keep his mount calm. One horse who has not been calm this week is likely Sheema favorite Cloth of Stars, who tends to wind himself into a near frenzy during morning training. This is reportedly standard behavior from the 5-year-old, but is disconcerting nonetheless.

Cloth of Stars got in a practice run March 6 at Chantilly, finishing second to stablemate and Dubai World Cup runner Talismanic while going 1 3/16 miles on a synthetic surface.

“That race was meaningless because it was the wrong surface and too short,” said trainer Andre Fabre. “He has always gone well from age 2 to 5; there’s nothing mysterious about him.”

Cloth of Stars, owned by Godolphin, won the Group 1 Prix Ganay last spring on good-to-soft ground and was second to Enable on soft ground in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Nevertheless, Fabre seems certain that Cloth of Stars will be equally effective on the firmer course here.

Hawkbill, another Godolphin entrant, this one trained by Charlie Appleby, won the local Sheema prep, the March 10 City of Gold, in a start he probably needed. Hawkbill can lead and is dangerous if left loose on an easy tempo. Poet’s Word could be the fourth choice. His second-place finish in the Champion Stakes last fall came over a bog, and he has done little to suggest he’s the equal of a horse like Rey de Oro.

Benbatl looking to rebound

Four times during the 15 years that the $6 million Dubai Turf, formerly called the Dubai Duty Free, has been a major race, a Japanese horse has won, and five of the 14 entrants in Saturday’s renewal are Japanese.

Among that contingent is Real Steel, who won the race in 2016, and Vivlos, who won it last year. But Neorealism might be the most capable of the Japanese quintet, and perhaps none of them will be able to handle the locally based Benbatl.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor calls Benbatl his best chance at a win on the World Cup card, and a viewing of the Group 1 Jebel Hatta here March 10 will tell you why. Benbatl raced in two positions during the Jebel Hatta – wide and wider. He and jockey Oisin Murphy were caught five to six paths wide during the entire one turn of the Jebel Hatta but still battled on to finish second by three-quarters of a length to Blair House, who slipped through along the inside.

Benbatl had previously won two Meydan turf races this winter by wide margins, and he was good enough last year to be Godolphin’s leading Epsom Derby hope. He has a better draw, post 5, for the 1,800-meter, one-turn Dubai Turf and ought to be in line for a much better trip.

Drawn just outside of Benbatl is the horse he edged for second in the Jebel Hatta, Janoobi. Trained by Mike de Kock, Janoobi figures to be a pace factor, or perhaps more, as he has improved throughout the winter following his importation from South Africa.

Real Steel, on the surface at least, doesn’t look like the same horse who won this race two years ago. Vivlos stands a considerably better chance of taking down her second Dubai Turf, though the course she won on in 2017 was softer than the one she’ll get Saturday.

Neorealism is a 7-year-old but comes into the race a fresh horse with excuses in his last two starts. Time Warp set a slow pace and kicked furiously in winning the Dec. 10 Hong Kong Cup, with Neorealism left reeling in third, while a soft course undid his chances Oct. 29 in the Group 1 Tenno Sho.