Zabeel Mile, jockey competition conclude Carnival

By Michele MacDonald Full Stride Communications

With horses from all over the world scrambling for their last chance to collect an invitation to the Dubai World Cup (G1) program on March 27, Friday’s seven contentious Thoroughbred races with full fields guarantee a dramatic end to the 2010 Dubai International Racing Carnival at Meydan Racecourse.

Adding even more zest to the occasion is the “Meydan Masters” international jockey competition in which Americans Kent Desormeaux and Aaron Gryder, who has been riding recently in Hong Kong, will pit their skills against colleagues from Japan, Australia, Europe and the United Arab Emirates in a four-race battle.

In the grand finale to Friday’s program and the Carnival, a dozen runners are poised to compete for the trophy in the $250,000 Zabeel Mile (G2) on turf. Godolphin’s Group 1 winner Rio de La Plata will try to reclaim his best form in his first start of the year and South African and English group stakes winner Imbongi is seeking a win after his unlucky nose loss in the Al Fahidi Fort (G2) on February 19.

Rio de La Plata, a five-year-old son of Rahy bred in Kentucky, won the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere Grand Criterium (G1) as a two-year-old in France and finished second in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas) (G1) the following spring. While clearly possessing class, he has not won in six starts since his juvenile season.

Frankie Dettori rides Rio de La Plata from the rail post.

Imbongi, a six-year-old gelding by Russian Revival bred in South Africa, was nipped in the last strides of the Al Fahidi Fort, which ended in a three-horse photo finish. Assigned co- highweight of 128 pounds, Imbongi will start from post ten. Christophe Soumillon will be back aboard for owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and trainer Mike de Kock.

Snaafy, who competed in last year’s Dubai World Cup on dirt, is back on turf after a fifth- place effort in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (G3) won by Allybar over the Tapeta all- weather track. Bred and owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Snaafy won three Carnival races last year and added a 2010 Carnival win on February 5 while going a mile on the grass. Richard Hills will ride the six-year-old son of Kingmambo, bred at Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, from post four.

In other races on the program:

• Twelve runners that have competed from South America to Scandinavia to Australia and to India, as well as many points between, have been entered for a $175,000 allowance at 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) on the turf. Carded as the sixth race on the program, the dash is a prep for the $1-million Al Quoz Sprint (G3), the new race on Dubai World Cup night. India’s Oasis Star, winner of six consecutive races last year, is one to watch, along with Brazilian Group 1 winner Sol de Angra and earlier Meydan winners Frosty Secret and Star Crowned.

• Godolphin’s Group 1 veteran Calvados Blues, who raced competitively in three elite events in France last year including the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) (G1), headlines a $150,000 handicap at 2,000 meters (about 1 ¼ miles) on the all-weather track. A field of 12 will contest this race, the fifth on the program which also is the concluding event in the Meydan Masters. Japanese jockey Norihiro Yokoyama has drawn Calvados Blues and they will start from post two. Unlucky Monte Alto, who has been second three times and third once in four starts at the Carnival, will try for the win from post four; coincidentally, he has been teamed up with Hills, who is his regular rider.

• An intriguing group of 12 Northern and Southern Hemisphere-bred three-year-olds will run 1,600 meters (about one mile) on the turf in a $150,000 allowance that is the third race on the program. Among those is Godolphin’s recent acquisition from the United States, Tahitian Warrior, who won his career debut at six furlongs on dirt at Gulfstream Park in January and is nominated to the American Triple Crown. Dettori will ride Tahitian Warrior from post four, while the stable’s Frozen Power, who finished second in the UAE 2,000 Guineas (G3), will break from post ten with Ahmed Ajtebi.

• Thor’s Echo, America’s champion sprinter in 2006, will make his third Carnival start in Friday’s first race, a 1,200-meter dash on Tapeta which is the first leg of the Meydan Masters. Dettori has drawn Thor’s Echo, who has finished third and fourth in good efforts following about 1 ½ years on the sidelines, and they will start from post 11 in the 12-horse field. Godolphin’s Global City, who has won two Carnival sprints, breaks next to Thor’s Echo from stall ten with Ted Durcan in the irons.

• Samanda Racing’s popular Drunken Sailor, who has defeated some strong competition while winning both his previous Carnival starts, will take on Godolphin’s Firebet, who missed by a neck in his seasonal debut last month, and consistent French stakes winner Marinous in a $120,000, 2,200-meter (about 1 3/8-mile) handicap over the all-weather track. Durcan has drawn Drunken Sailor in the Meydan Masters competition, while Olivier Peslier is on Firebet and Dettori gets aboard Marinous.

• Godolphin’s Sirocco Breeze, a lightly raced five-year-old who impressively won a Carnival race on February 18, will take on 11 challengers in the second race, a $120,000 handicap over 1,400 meters (about seven furlongs) that also is part of the Meydan Masters. Hills will ride Sirocco Breeze, who will carry co-high weight of 137 pounds along with Consul General, who finished third in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 (G3) on January 28. Gryder has drawn Consul General, a six-year-old by Selkirk who is owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Jalawl bin Saud bin Abdulaziz.