Impressive UAE 2,000 Guineas win for Estihdaaf
Estihdaaf overcame a slow start to gain an impressive victory in the G3 UAE 2,000 Guineas over a mile on dirt during week six of the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 7 February.
The three-year-old Arch colt, dropping down in trip for trainer Saeed bin Suroor after finishing second in the extended nine-furlong Al Bastakiya Trial on Thursday, January 24, was sluggish leaving the stalls from the inside stall one, but soon recovered under Christophe Soumillon to take up the running after a furlong and a half.
Estihdaaf held a narrow advantage until kicking on turning into the straight and went clear. He ran on well and was eased near the line to come home five and a half lengths ahead of Walking Thunder in 1m 39.87s.
He provided Godolphin with an 11th success in the UAE 2,000 Guineas and Saeed bin Suroor, responsible for seven of them, said: “Estihdaaf looked more forward tonight and has improved since finishing second in the Al Bastakiya Trial, which gave us the confidence to drop him back to a mile. He is doing very well and improving.
“I knew that the dirt would suit him from his breeding and I talked to the jockey beforehand, telling him to jump in front and be handy as that is the way he likes to work in the mornings and would keep him out of the kick-back.
“Christophe Soumillon was forward with Estihdaaf and when he asked the colt they won well.
“Last time, Estihdaaf came to finish second after being too far back, but I said to the jockey to lead if he could and the horse has improved since his last run.
“He has options including the Al Bastakiya (Listed, 1m 1f 110yds) on Super Saturday (9 March) and the UAE Derby (G2, 1m 1f 110yds) on Dubai World Cup Night (Saturday, March 30).
“We need to see how he comes out of this race and Sheikh Mohammed will make the decision.”
Christophe Soumillon commented: “Estihdaaf broke quite slowly, but fortunately I was drawn in stall one and, with the chute, I could allow him to jump a bit late.
“I was quite confident when I hit the front because I knew that, when you have a horse who is a bit lazy like Estihdaaf, he is hard to catch if you can hit the front here and relax a while.
“When I saw Walking Thunder racing four deep, I knew that I would have a winning chance.
“When Saeed gets some ideas, he can make things work, and that is what is so great with him.
“I wasn’t sure that the colt wanted to drop back to a mile because he showed less speed out of the gates last time.
“I told Saeed that, if I had hit the front last time, I would have won. We did it today in a better race and we are all very happy.
“Estihdaaf was a completely different horse on the turf at Meydan – he never found his action and wasn’t moving well.
“He looks to love the dirt, which is a great point because the good races for the three-year-olds out here are on the surface.
“He was much more focused in the visor. When I was cantering down to the start, I could see that he was not really concentrating on the job, but I had some horses with me down the back straight and on the turn, which made him go.”
Nordic lights up Meydan with all-the-way success
Lightly raced four-year-old Nordic Lights improved on a promising Carnival debut when making virtually all to beat fellow Godolphin runner Desert Fire in the nine-furlong turf handicap on week six of the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 7 February.
The Charlie Appleby-trained son of Intello, runner-up to First Nation in a similar contest over a mile and a quarter on Thursday, 17 January, broke smartly under William Buick and soon took the 12-strong field along.
Nordic Lights kicked on at the top of the straight and kept on strongly to come home two and a quarter lengths ahead of Desert Fire (Saeed bin Suroor/Christophe Soumillon), who was handy throughout, in 1m 49.69s on good ground.
Charlie Appleby said, “We tried to eliminate the preliminaries as much as possible with Nordic Lights, which helps because he is very hard on himself. Coming back to nine furlongs also suited.
“He was just running out of gas over 10 furlongs last time and got caught late on, so we were confident that he would have the pace for this trip and hopefully see it out strongly.
“He soon starts to get himself worked up down at the start and it’s just a question of trying to keep the lid on him for as long as possible. It was handy that we were allowed to get him down to post early and keep him as calm as possible.
“He was a breeze-up horse and was probably asked to do quite a bit as a two-year-old for a big horse. I think that has sort of played on him, so you are better off keeping it simple and letting him get on with it.
“He deserved to get his head in front as he is a horse who has always shown a lot of potential and never quite gone through with it. Hopefully, he will gain some confidence from today.
“I don’t know whether he is quite good enough for a Jebel Hatta (G1, 9f, Super Saturday, 9 March), but he has done nothing wrong tonight. We will get him home and have a regroup.”
William Buick added, “Charlie told me to get on Nordic Lights early and try to make it as easy as possible for the horse.
“We managed to set him off on the right foot today and it made a difference as he is in the right frame of mind.
“He is a strong galloper and has always been a horse who has been held in fairly high regard, so it is nice that it has come together for him.
“Nordic Lights is just a horse who, once he steps onto the track, he is in the ring and it’s time to go to work. He is a very honest horse and, if they all tried as much as he does, it would be lovely.
“The drop back in trip definitely helped. He was a bit gassy in stages through the race, but he is a strong galloper and hopefully it will be onwards and upwards for him now.”
fonte : Godolphin
