SUNDAY, 10 MARCH 2019 CAPEZZANO SILENCES THUNDER SNOW DREAM NIGHT FOR By Kelsey Riley All eyes were on last year=s G1 Dubai World Cup winner GODOLPHIN AT MEYDAN Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) in his first appearance since a brave third in the Nov. 3 GI Breeders= Cup Classic in Saturday=s G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3, but the 5-year-old could not keep pace with the rapidly improving 5-year-old gelding Capezzano (Bernardini), who extended his record to three-for-three in 2019 and posted his second straight open-length win. Capezzano is lightly raced for a 5-year-old, and he was making his 14th trip to the starting gate on Saturday. He was expatriated to Dubai after making just one start in Britain at two, and was third behind Thunder Snow in the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas and filled the same position in the Listed Al Bastakiya on this card two years ago. He picked up a handicap win going a mile last year but was beaten out of sight on two tries over 2000 metres, including in this race, where he was beaten 48 lengths. Cont. p3 Dream Castle takes the Jebel Hatta | DRC/ER IN TDN AMERICA TODAY SANTA ANITA TO RE-OPEN MAR. 22 By Kelsey Riley Santa Anita Park will resume racing on Mar. 22. Bill Finley has the Connections could be inclined to lament the gelding of a well- scoop. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN America. bred son of Frankel (GB), but that equipment change has undoubtedly made all the differences when it comes to the racetrack performance of Dream Castle (GB), and Saeed bin Suroor=s 5-year-old remained unbeaten on the year and become his sire=s sixth Group 1 winner in Saturday=s Jebel Hatta S. at Meydan, the 1800 metre course and distance prep for the $6- million G1 Dubai Turf on Dubai World Cup night Mar. 30. Meydan hosted seven such preps as part of its Super Saturday card in preview of its big night in three weeks= time, and Godolphin largely dominated with four wins. Those included last year=s G1 King=s Stand S. winner Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), who continued a seamless return in the G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint; Divine Image (Scat Daddy), who solidified her Classic credentials with a victory over the colts in the Listed Al Bastakiya, and Old Persian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), probably a top stayer in the making, in the G2 Dubai City of Gold. Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) was a non-disgraced second in the night=s feature race, the $600,000 G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3, in preparation for the Dubai World Cup. Cont. p2 TDN EUROPE • PAGE 2 OF 13 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 G1 Jebel Hatta Cont. from p1 Dream Castle piqued interest when breaking his maiden at AThe trip [and the gelding] really helped him,@ said bin Suroor. first asking at three before finishing second to Barney Roy (GB) ALast year, we thought maybe he could be a sprinter, but I (Excelebration {Ire}) in the G3 Greenham S, and he was not believe he=s a nine furlongs-plus horse. This year he has shown disgraced in the G1 2000 Guineas, beaten 3 1/4 lengths in fifth he=s a class, Group 1 horse.@ behind Churchill (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The placing was the same Soumillon added, AThe last two runs were quite impressive. I and the margin similar in the G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot, and was really confident with him today--even with that draw. The after finishing a close seventh in the G2 Lennox S. he rounded race went well for us. We had a nice pace. When I saw I was out his 3-year-old campaign with a runner-up finish in Turkey=s behind Wootton, I was very confident, because I knew he was G2 International Topkapi Trophy. going to take me quite far. When I asked him to go, he really Dream Castle made four starts at last year=s carnival without quickened sharply. When I hit the front, he was looking around making much noise, after which he was gelded and given a long for a while. He=s a really different horse compared to last year, break. Returning to action in the G3 Singspiel S. in his first try when he was a colt.@ beyond a mile on Jan. 3, he was also the three-length winner of the G2 Al Rashidiya S. over this trip on Jan. 24. Pedigree Notes Sitting last but the slow-starting Blair House (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) Dream Castle is the second foal out of the G2 Flying Childers S. down the backstretch under Christophe Soumillon, Dream Castle winner and G3 Princess Margaret S. third Sand Vixen (GB) was about six lengths off the lead heading into the turn and (Dubawi {Ire}). The mare, who was herself raced by Godolphin, began to work his way forward outside rivals midway around has an as-yet unnamed 2-year-old colt by Dawn Approach (Ire) the bend. Upon straightening he picked off horses with relative and a yearling son of Dark Angel (Ire). ease and, despite tiring a bit late on, held off a game Wootton (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) to win by 1 1/4 lengths. TDN EUROPE • PAGE 3 OF 13 • THETDN.COM SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 Saturday, Meydan, Dubai JEBEL HATTA SPONSORED BY EMIRATES AIRLINE-G1, $400,000, Meydan, 3-9, NH4yo/up & SH3yo/up, 1800mT, 1:48.17, gd. 1--DREAM CASTLE (GB), 126, g, 5, by Frankel (GB) 1st Dam: Sand Vixen (GB) (GSW-Eng, $119,931), by Dubawi (Ire) 2nd Dam: Fur Will Fly (GB), by Petong (GB) Vice President, International Operations Gary King 3rd Dam: Bumpkin (GB), by Free State (Ire) Twitter: @garykingTDN 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Godolphin; B-Darley (GB); T-Saeed bin [email protected] Suroor; J-Christophe Soumillon. $240,000. Lifetime Record: + 1.732.320.0975 GSP-Eng & Tur, 13-4-2-1, $711,722. *6th G1SW for his sire (by Galileo {Ire}). Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the International Editor eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Kelsey Riley 2--Wootton (Fr), 126, c, 4, Wootton Bassett (GB)--American Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN Nizzy (Fr), by American Post (GB). O-Godolphin; B-SARL Ecurie [email protected] Haras De Quetieville (FR); T-Charlie Appleby. $80,000. European Editor 3--First Contact (Ire), 126, g, 4, Dark Angel (Ire)--Vanishing Grey Emma Berry (Ire), by Verglas (Ire). (i300,000 Wlg =15 GOFNOV). Twitter: @collingsberry O-Godolphin; B-Peter McCutcheon & Andrew Rosen (IRE); [email protected] T-Charlie Appleby. $40,000. Margins: 1 1/4, 2 3/4, 1 1/4. Associate International Editor Also Ran: Century Dream (Ire), Loxley (Ire), Majestic Mambo Heather Anderson (SAf), Forest Ranger (Ire), Janoobi (SAf), Muzdawaj (GB), Blair Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN House (Ire). Marketing Manager Click for the Emirates Racing chart, the Am West PPs or the Alayna Cullen free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video. Twitter: @AlaynaCullen [email protected] G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3 Cont. from p1 Off that record, and the fact that Capezzano was two-for-two Contributing Editor over the Meydan dirt mile already this year, one would not have Alan Carasso blamed connections for going for this card=s G3 Burj Nahaar, Twitter: @EquinealTDN where he would have been much more prominent in the Cafe Racing betting, but rolling the dice earned them the ultimate reward. Sean Cronin Cont. p4 Tom Frary [email protected] Irish Correspondent Daithi Harvey Regular Columnists Chris McGrath | Andrew Caulfield John Berry | Kevin Blake IN TDN AUS/NZ TODAY THE AUTUMN SUN LIGHTS UP RANDWICK The Autumn Sun (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}) won the G1 Randwick Guineas on Mar. 9. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Aus/NZ. Capezzano with ease in the Al Maktoum Challenge R3 | DRC/ER Want to list your job? 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Thunder Snow was in contention as they Pedigree Notes turned for home but Capezzano never looked likely to be Capezzano is the first stakes winner produced by Cableknit beaten, traveling with ease under Mickael Barzalona. Capezzano (Unbridled=s Song), who was unplaced in two starts. The mare=s turned back the favourite at the top of the lane and widened to 2-year-old is a Macho Uno filly named Saxon Braid, and she has win by 9 1/2 lengths. Thunder Snow, who was also second in this a yearling full-sister to Capezzano. Cableknit, who is a half-sister race last year en route to World Cup glory, held second from the to the champion sprinter and accomplished sire Speightstown fast finishing South Korean horse Dolkong (Afleet Alex).