Tue, 02/25/2014 - 15:41

Dubai: Trade Storm has license to improve in Zabeel Mile

Last year during the Dubai World Cup Carnival, Trade Storm finished 11th in his first race of the meeting, then improved massively and impressively won a pair of grass races over the Meydan course before finishing a commendable fourth in the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free to end his Dubai campaign. We will see if a similar pattern unfolds Thursday when Trade Storm makes his second start of the 2014 Dubai World Cup Carnival in the Group 3, $250,000 Zabeel Mile.

Sun, 02/23/2014 - 14:36

Tokyo Racecourse: Copana Rickey wins February Stakes at 274-1

Copana Rickey, a 274-1 longshot, scored a shocking win in Sunday’s $1.91 million February Stakes on dirt at Tokyo Racecourse, the first Grade 1 of the year in that country.

Ridden by Hironobu Tanabe, Copana Rickey was near the front throughout the dirt race over a mile. Copana Rickey stalked pacesetter A Shin Top early, took the lead with a quarter-mile remaining, and won by a half-length over Hokko Tarumae. Belshazzar, the 8-5 favorite, finished third in the field of 16, 2 1/4 lengths behind the winner.

Fri, 02/21/2014 - 09:27

Japan: Belshazzar prepping for Dubai in February Stakes

Belshazzar, the winner of the Japan Cup Dirt in December, makes his 2014 debut in Sunday’s $1.91 million February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan, a prep for an expected start in the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 29.

The February Stakes, run over a mile, is the first Grade 1 race of the year in Japan.

Thu, 02/20/2014 - 13:40

Meydan Racecourse: L’Amour de Ma Vie scores in Balanchine Stakes

L’Amour de Ma Vie, a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred mare who raced on France’s all-weather winter circuit in December, scored an 8-1 upset win in Thursday’s $200,000 Balanchine Stakes at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

Certify, the 2-5 favorite with British bookmakers, could only finish fourth in the field of six, her first loss in her sixth career start.

Tue, 02/18/2014 - 13:51

Dubai: Certify, Flotilla meet again in Balanchine

Barbara D. Livingston
Flotilla, winner of the 2012 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita, is one of six starters in Thursday's $200,000 Balanchine Stakes at Meydan Racecourse.

European Group 1 winners Certify and Flotilla meet for the second time this winter in Thursday’s $200,000 Balanchine Stakes at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, one of two $200,000 races on a six-race program.

Flotilla won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita in 2012 and the Group 1 French 1000 Guineas at Longchamp last May. She was fourth behind Certify in the Group 2 Cape Verdi Stakes at Meydan on Jan. 30.

Thu, 02/13/2014 - 15:06

Meydan: Variety Club among Southern Hemisphere standouts during Dubai World Cup Carnival

Dubai Racing Club/Andrew Watkins
Two-time South African Horse of the Year Variety Club romps in the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes at Meydan.

It was a Southern Hemisphere kind of night on Thursday at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, with horses who last started in South Africa and Australia making the strongest impressions during a six-race program.

Variety Club, two times South Africa’s Horse of the Year, looked particularly sharp winning the Group 3, $200,000 Firebreak Stakes in his first start outside South Africa.

Tue, 02/11/2014 - 15:59

Dubai: UAE 2000 Guineas tops trio of Group 3 races at Meydan

A trio of Group 3 races, the $250,000 UAE 2000 Guineas, the $200,000 Firebreak, and the $200,000 Al Shindagha Sprint, are featured on Thursday’s six-race program at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

The UAE 2000 Guineas, carded for about one mile on the Tapeta main track at Meydan, drew 11 entrants and is difficult to figure in no small part because two of the Godolphin horses in the race, Long John and Paximadia, both are making their first start outside Australia while making their all-weather-racing-surface debut.

Fri, 02/07/2014 - 16:54

Chriselliam, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner, euthanized

Tom Keyser
Chriselliam draws off late under Richard Hughes to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Chriselliam, the champion 2-year-old filly of Europe in 2013 and the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita last November, was euthanized on Friday from complications of a foot infection.

Chriselliam had been transferred from a veterinary clinic near trainer Charlie Hills’s base west of London to a clinic in Newmarket, England, on Wednesday for continued supervision. It was determined on Friday that she could not recover, and the decision was made to euthanize her.

Thu, 02/06/2014 - 14:13

Meydan: Prince Bishop jumps into Dubai World Cup picture

Dubai Racing Club/Andrew Watkins
Prince Bishop, a 17-1 outsider, wins Round 2 of the Maktoum Challenge under jockey Kieren Fallon.

Prince Bishop, a 17-1 outsider, won his first Group 2 stakes since 2010 with an upset in Thursday’s $250,000 Round 2 of the Maktoum Challenge at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

Prince Bishop ran about 1 3/16 miles on the Tapeta Footings synthetic track in 1:55.67, setting a track record at a venue that opened in 2010.

The win makes the 7-year-old Prince Bishop a candidate for the $10 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan on March 29. Prince Bishop was seventh in the 2012 Dubai World Cup.

Tue, 02/04/2014 - 14:03

Meydan: Trio of Group 1 winners prep for Dubai World Cup

The Group 1 winners Dunaden, Heavy Metal, and Hunter’s Light are three of the 16 runners in Thursday’s $250,000 Round 2 of the Maktoum Challenge at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, a prep for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 29.

Hunter’s Light, one of three runners in the field owned by the Maktoum family’s Godolphin Racing, won Round 2 of the Maktoum Challenge in 2013 and was later seventh in the Dubai World Cup. Round 2 of the Maktoum Challenge is run over 1 3/16 miles on the Tapeta Footings synthetic track. The Dubai World Cup is run over 1 1/4 miles.