Secret Ambition began his career in April 2015 racing at Redcar in England. He became a Dubai horse in 2016, winning at Jebel Ali in his first Dubai appearance and never leaving the emirate again, and on Saturday, at age 8 and in his 42nd start, Secret Ambition hit a career high, winning the Group 2, $750,000 Godolphin Mile. Secret Ambition didn’t just eke out the biggest win of his career – he slammed his 14 rivals, drawing away through the final 400 meters under Tadgh O’Shea to post a six-length victory. The battle for second was much tighter, with 32-1 shot Golden Goal the best of a five-horse phalanx that included all three Americans in the Godolphin Mile. Avant Garde was the best of them, coming with an eye-catching ruse up the rail to finish third, a neck behind Golden Goal. Snapper Sinclair lost the show photo despite racing extremely wide around the turn, finishing gamely. Parsimony, trainer Doug O’Neill’s entrant, ran an even race for sixth, while Midnight Sands, the odds-on favorite, checked in eighth, never a factor in this one-turn mile. Secret Ambition, trained by Satish Seemar, was a major factor from the beginning, making the early lead and dominating his opponents. His final time for the 1,600 meters, a swift 1:35.36, accorded with the wide margin of victory. The gelding, winning for the 11th time, is by Exceed and Excel out of Inner Secret, by Singspiel. He returned $22.70. Dubai Gold Cup By any objective measure, Subjectivist ($15) turned in a powerhouse performance winning the Group 2, $750,000 Dubai Gold Cup by 5 3/4 lengths in the first grass race of the World Cup program. Just a 4-year-old, young for a high-level staying horse, Subjectivist came to hand the second part of 2020, winning his group stakes debut in the Group 3 March Stakes at Goodwood over 1 3/4 miles by 15 lengths, albeit over only three opponents. That was late August and on Oct. 25 at Longchamp, Subjectivist won the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak, France’s top long-distance flat race, by two lengths. But at Goodwood the turf had been rated soft and at Longchamp the ground was heavy. Saturday, racing under the hot Dubai sun, Subjectivist raced over good going and, for the first time, around a flat, turning track. He relished the conditions, tracking pacesetter For the Top, taking the lead with more than five furlongs to race, widening on the final turn, and racing solo through the homestretch under jockey Joe Fanning, no rival ever coming within hailing distance. Subjectivist’s time for the two miles was 3:17.77, eclipsing the course record of 3:17.90 set in 2018 by the truly excellent French stayer Vazirabad. Fanning, who employed aggressive and very successful tactics, rode the winner for English trainer Mark Johnston. Subjectivist, now a five-time winner from 16 starts – and likely a serious player all season in the European staying division – is by Teofilo out of Reckoning, by Danehill Dancer. Walderbe finished a distant second, winning a photo over Away He Goes as heavily favored Secret Advisor could only manage fourth.