Mountain Hunter scales Meydan heights again
Five-year-old Mountain Hunter continued his rich vein of form at this year’s Dubai World Cup Carnival when leading home a Godolphin clean sweep in the concluding 10-furlong turf handicap at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 28 February. He provided a third Godolphin victory on the evening.
The Saeed bin Suroor-trained son of Lonhro, successful in a similar contest over two furlongs further on Thursday, 14 February, tacked over from stall 13 under Christophe Soumillon to settle in fourth of the 14 runners as Zorion (Charlie Appleby/James Doyle) led Desert Fire (Saeed bin Suroor/Pat Cosgrave) early on.
Zorion found more under pressure when challenged by Desert Fire with a furlong and a half to race, but the duo were collared well inside the final furlong by Mountain Hunter, who ran on strongly after being switched out.
Mountain Hunter was eased near the line to come home three quarters of a length ahead of Zorion in 2m 3.75s on good ground, with the same margin back to Desert Fire in third.
Saeed bin Suroor commented: “Mountain Hunter won well here two weeks ago and travelled very nicely in behind tonight. He showed a good turn of foot and has improved physically this year.
“He lost his condition after running out here last year so we had to give him two or three months to recover, but he has handled each race really well this season.
“It depends on the pace and how fast they go, but I think that a mile and a quarter is his best trip and he is a tough horse. We will have to look for better races for him.”
Christophe Soumillon added: “Mountain Hunter jumped out of the gate quite fast last time and I only had to pass a few horses, but I was lucky to get cover in fourth position tonight from my wide draw, especially with the headwind down the back straight.
“He has a bit of speed, but I like him over a mile and a half as well. I think Saeed has a better horse for the G1 Dubai Turf (9f), so if there is a race for him on Dubai World Cup night (Saturday, 30 March), it will probably be the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic (1m 4f).
“Mountain Hunter showed us some class tonight. We know that some very good horses from overseas will be coming over for the Dubai Sheema Classic, but he is a horse who can get freshened up now and could run a great race.
“He has won two in a row under big weights and, when horses get so competitive at the Carnival, you can take your chance in a big race.”
Consistent On The Warpath gains Meydan victory
On The Warpath capitalised on a return to seven furlongs when gaining victory over Mubtasim to provide Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby a 1-2 in the turf handicap at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 28 February.
Four-year-old On The Warpath (William Buick) was smartly into his stride and raced in a close fourth on the outside as Victory Wave (Saeed bin Suroor/Christophe Soumillon) set a strong pace at the head of the 14-strong field, with Mubtasim (James Doyle) settling in third on the inside rail.
On The Warpath, twice placed in turf handicaps over a mile at Meydan earlier in the Carnival, was niggled along turning for home and quickened well to hold every chance along with Mubtasim and Wasim as the trio went clear of Victory Wave approaching the final furlong.
Mubtasim went to the front only for On The Warpath to come through and assert in the closing stages for a length victory in 1m 23.52s, with the same margin back to Wasim.
Charlie Appleby, celebrating a double on the night of this latest Dubai World Cup Carnival programme, commented: “We have dropped On The Warpath back to seven furlongs tonight, but it was a bit surprising to see him come under the pump sooner than I expected.
“To be fair to the horse, he has toughed it out and hit the line strongly.
“I thought that this trip was going to suit as it looked like he never saw it out over a mile. He was up on the lead on both his starts over a mile before being nabbed late on.
“We knew that there would be pace in the race tonight with Mubtasim running. William was always going to have On The Warpath in the box seat and give him something to aim at.
“Mubtasim has produced two solid runs at Meydan now and I liked his run style tonight – they have gone a good gallop, but he has settled into it well and found when he needed to. He is a horse who we can hopefully have a bit of fun with over the summer.
“Both horses will start their quarantine tomorrow and then head back to the UK in a month’s time.”
William Buick reported: “On The Warpath has run well on all three of his Carnival starts.
“He travelled very well over a mile twice, when he possibly didn’t quite get home, and the drop back in trip was the key tonight.
“He fought really well. They went a good gallop and On The Warpath was always doing enough – I didn’t mind it when he came off the bridle slightly as he was always keeping tabs on the leaders. I was always pretty happy.
“On The Warpath is most effective over seven furlongs and both he and Mubtasim are nice horses who have run well on all of their starts out here.”
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