The Right Man by a nose in Al Quoz Sprint
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
The Right Man, a 20-1 outsider, had the right trip in Saturday’s Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint on turf at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
The American shipper Long On Value was not as fortunate and nearly won the race despite a troubled trip early in the $1 million race on a straightaway course.
The Right Man, who finished 11th in a Group 1 sprint in France last August, held off a determined rally from Long On Value to win by a nose. Ridden by regular rider Francois Xavier-Bertras, The Right Man ran about six furlongs on a yielding turf course in 1:09.59.
Bertras had The Right Man in about fifth place with a quarter-mile to go and took the lead from pacesetter Ertijaal in the final 100 yards. Long On Value, ridden by Joel Rosario, was bumped by a rival in the first furlong and was quickly at the back of the field of 12. Rosario guided Long On Value to the middle of the track and steadily got a response from the 6-year-old horse to just miss.
“I kind of waited and came around,” Rosario said. “He doesn’t like being inside. He ran huge.”
Long On Value, trained by Bill Mott, is winless in five starts since taking the Lucky Coin Stakes for turf sprinters at Saratoga last July.
“It sort of feels like a win,” said Riley Mott, Bill Mott’s son.
“All we knew was we were confident in how our horse was doing.”
Ertijaal, a Group 3 winner at Meydan in February, held third, followed by Jungle Cat, Richard’s Boy, Amazing Kids, Washington DC, Final Venture, Medicean Man, Limato, Baccarat, and Finsbury Square.
Richard’s Boy, trained in Southern California by Peter Miller, was with the leaders to the final furlong before fading, losing by 2 1/2 lengths. The 5-year-old gelding won the California Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in January.
Long On Value and Richard’s Boy were the only American-based runners in the field.
The Right Man is a 5-year-old gelding by Lope de Vega. Owned by Pegase Bloodstock, The Right Man has won 9 of 17 starts. Trained by Didier Guillemin, The Right Man began his career in the French provinces in 2014.
Prior to Saturday, his biggest win was the Group 3 Prix de Seint-Et-Oise for turf sprinters a Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse near Paris last November.
– additional reporting by Marcus Hersh
