D’bai stayed on well to see off stablemate Bravo Zolo in the Longines Moon Phase Master Collection Handicap over seven furlongs on turf at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 11 January.
 
Trained by Charlie Appleby and partnered by William Buick, the four-year-old D’bai disputed fifth place in the early part of the race. He progressed to mount a challenge over a furlong from home and ran on to take the lead inside the last furlong.

At the finish, he had a length and a half to spare over Bravo Zolo (James Doyle), who raced prominently throughout, and won in a time of 1m 22.32s.

Charlie Appleby commented: “It is always nice to get your first winner on the board at the Carnival.

“Bravo Zolo put in another solid performance and is crying out for the step back up to a mile, which is his trip.

“D’bai has plenty of toe and showed good acceleration tonight. It was a great ride by William. We will probably now head to the Al Fahidi Fort (G2, 7f, 1 February) with him.”

William Buick added: “It’s the first meeting of the Carnival and the team is in good form. Everyone is finding their feet and getting to know the horses, but it’s always nice to get a winner on the first night.

“It is an important time of year for us and hopefully we have brought some nice horses to the table.

“I had choices to make in two races tonight and I came here thinking that I had got it wrong in both. In the end, I got it wrong in one and right in the other, so that is not too bad, and Bravo Zolo ran well in second.

“D’bai has a lot of tactical pace and travels very well, which is great for the seven furlong and mile races around here. He has got quite a nice profile and has thrived since he has been out here.”

fonte : Godolphin