Pimpernel, a stakes winner in England last fall, is the leading contender in Thursday’s $250,000 United Arab Emirates Oaks at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
Owned by Godolphin and trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni, Pimpernel was second in the UAE 1000 Guineas earlier this month behind Gamilati. An Irish-bred by Invincible Spirit, Pimpernel won the totepool Stakes at Newbury, England, last fall. Frankie Dettori has the mount on Thursday.
[DUBAI CARNIVAL: Free PPs and live video - wager with DRF Bets]
Testa Matta, the only American-bred in a field of 18, scored an upset win in Sunday’s $2.45 million February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse, the first Grade 1 race of the year on the Japanese calendar.
A 23-1 shot, Testa Matta rallied from off the pace to win the February Stakes by two lengths, leading through the final furlong. Silk Fortune finished second, three-quarters of a length in front of Wonder Acute. Transcend, the defending champion and race favorite, finished seventh.
Testa Matta finished about one mile in 1:35.40.
Black Caviar extended her unbeaten streak to 19 races in Saturday’s $802,000 Lightning Stakes at Flemington Racecourse in Australia, a race that could have been her last in that country for several months.
The partnership that owns Black Caviar and trainer Peter Moody have a start at Royal Ascot in June as a long-range goal for Black Caviar, who is also being considered for a race in Dubai on the Dubai World Cup program on March 31. Whether she starts again in Australia in coming weeks has yet to be decided.
Two heads are better than one, and after First City fought past the Mike de Kock-trained Reem in the stretch run of the Balanchine Stakes on Friday at Meydan in Dubai, she was a sitting duck for the de Kock-trained race favorite, Mahbooba, who swept past and won the Group 2, $200,000 Balanchine by two and one-half lengths under Christophe Soumillon.
Master of Hounds ran okay, but it was another Mike de Kock-trained horse, Viscount Nelson, who won the Group 2, $250,000 Al Fahidi Fort on Thursday night at Meydan in Dubai.
Racing near the back of the pack under longtime de Kock associate Kevin Shea, Viscount Nelson moved up smartly between horses as the field turned into the homestretch of the one-mile grass race. With luck on their side, Shea and Viscount Nelson continued their rally unimpeded through the straightaway, getting up in the final half-furlong to beat Albaasil by a half-length.
Transcend, the runner-up in the 2011 Dubai World Cup, will be favored to defend his title in Sunday’s $2.4 million February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse, a prep for this year’s Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates on March 31.
Transcend has not started since winning the Japan Cup Dirt at Hanshin Racecourse on Dec. 4. A 6-year-old horse by Wild Rush, Transcend has won 10 of 19 starts, all for owner Koji Maeda and trainer Takayuki Yasuda. He was named Japan’s champion dirt horse last year.
Making the quickest turnaround of her career, Black Caviar can stretch her unbeaten streak to 19 races in Saturday’s $802,500 Lightning Stakes at Flemington Racecourse in Australia, just a week after winning the C.F. Orr Stakes at Caulfield last Saturday.
Black Caviar, 6, was listed as a 1-10 favorite on Thursday for the Group 1 Lightning Stakes, which is run over a straightaway five furlongs on turf. The Lightning Stakes will be Black Caviar’s first start over that distance since her 14th career win in the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield in October.
Master of Hounds is one of 13 horses entered in the Group 2, $250,000 Al Fahidi Fort Stakes on Thursday night at Meydan, a race that comes up just one week after Master of Hounds finished third in the Maktoum Challenge Round 2.
