Global Weekly Preview: ‘Winx-mania’ starts up again Down Under
With wintry conditions interrupting racing and training in parts of Europe and North America, the global spotlight remains firmly on Australasia as well as Dubai.
An excellent meeting at Meydan on Thursday produced several horses with ambitions of making an impact in key races leading up to Dubai World Cup night on Saturday, 31 March.
The Saeed bin Suroor-trained Winter Lightning made a favourable impression with a gritty win in the UAE 1,000 Guineas Trial, while the Charlie Appleby-trained Comicasmade up a lot of ground to take the G3 Dubawi Stakes.
It is not hard to see this pair winning again in coming weeks, and the same could be said of Salsabeel, who completed a Godolphin treble in a decent handicap at the end of the night.
Believe it or not, Australian racing fans are currently getting excited, not about a big race on the horizon, but a barrier trial at Rosehill, Sydney, on Monday.
More words will be written and spoken about what amounts to a glorified dress rehearsal than any other race Down Under in the next seven days.
The reason? It marks the first public reappearance this year of champion mare Winx, who landed her third consecutive G1 Cox Plate at Mooney Valley in October.
Barrier trials, as such, are not real races. Jockeys are not obliged to push or ride out their mounts during the trial. They can even drop out at any stage, if they so wish.
Chris Waller, Winx’s trainer, is a great believer in trials, as he says it is good to get a horse away from home, get the adrenaline pumping, but without all the pressures associated with raceday.
What makes Monday’s trial interesting is that Redzel, recent winner of The Everest at Randwick, will reappear in the same heat.
But I don’t expect a battle or an all-out attempt by either to ‘win.’ More likely, each will go to the line on the bridle, having made up ground in the home straight.
For the top racing action Down Under this weekend — the real racing — turn to Trentham, Wellington, for the G1 Telegraph Stakes, over 1200m, in which the brilliant Volpe Veloce will attempt to follow up her gutsy G1 Railway victory on New Year’s Day.
On the New Zealand card, 12 runners line up for the G1 Thorndon Mile, in which Love Affair, Hiflyer and Savile Row are the main contenders.
Review
Salsabeel back with Meydan win
Godolphin gained a third winner on the second 2018 Dubai World Cup Carnival card when Salsabeel made a successful return to action in the Trophy Handicap over a mile on turf at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 18 January.
The four-year-old son of Exceed And Excel, having his first start for 249 days, was slow away and raced keenly early on.
He was settled 11th of the 16 runners by William Buick and began to make progress turning in.
Salsabeel quickly moved into contention as the field entered the straight and he delivered a strong challenge before hitting the front just inside the final furlong.
He ran on well to hold off Hornsby’s effort by a length in a fast time of 1m 35.50s on ground described as good, with the front two clear of the others.
Charlie Appleby remarked: “Salsabeel was a bit fresh and keen tonight.
“He is a horse we have always felt has got some quality, but he is still a work in progress.
“Meydan suits him as it is a big galloping track and he is learning on the job.
“Hopefully, he will improve as the Carnival goes on. We will see how he comes out of this race – he had been off a long time before it – and then make plans.”
William Buick said: “Salsabeel is a horse everyone has held in high regard.
“His last run was in the French 2,000 Guineas when he disappointed us a little bit, but he has had a long time off and came back in great shape.
“It was a strongly run race and we got a bit far back, but he went through the gears lovely and I thought he finished off the race really well.
“He has still got a little bit to learn, but is for sure a horse to look forward to. I think he can improve in every way.
“He is quite a big horse who has not had much racing and what he is doing at the moment is down to raw ability.”
fonte : Godolphin
