Of all the jockeys who will jet in to Dubai this week for Meydan’s $1.8 million (Dh6.61m) Super Saturday card it is the Italian rider Andrea Atzeni who will feel most pleased with himself.
Atzeni will get the leg up on a duo of strong favourites in Postponed and Decorated Knight, two British raiders who appear the most likely winners of the Group 2 Dubai City Of Gold and the Group 1 Jebel Hatta respectively.
Atzeni also rides the intriguing Japanese sprinter Dios Corrida in the Mahab Al Shimaal, statistically the race that carries the most weight of the seven on Saturday as an indicator to World Cup night success, while Ross could well spring a surprise in a tight-looking Burj Nahaar.
Of the 81 runners across the seven races, it is Postponed who commands top billing as the highest-rated horse on the day. The six-year-old son of Dubawi carried Sheikh Mohamed Obaid’s yellow and black silks with distinction last season by smoothly powering to two wins in Dubai and then two more in England. It was only his lacklustre fifth-placed finish in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October, when his long season may have found him out, that provided a first bump in the road.
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A second bump in the road has presented itself, however, in that Postponed has been drawn widest of the 10 runners. King Bolete, Postponed’s pacemaker who leads him in his work in Newmarket in England, has been drawn well on the inside in stall five and will give jockey Jack Mitchell a first taste of riding at the UAE’s biggest racecourse. Atzeni foresees no problems.
“You haven’t got long from the 12-furlong (2,400m) start before the bend but I’m not really worried,” he said. “He is a straightforward horse and you can place him anywhere in a race.
“I’m not being funny but the quality in the race is fairly low so we’ll just have to see.
“Jack has been doing a great job and he is an excellent judge of pace.”
After the Arc, trainer Roger Varian gave Postponed six weeks off, and it was not until December that he started cantering his stable flag-bearer again. Since then Postponed’s preparation has gone up through the gears and was capped on Wednesday when Atzeni partnered the horse in a piece of work at Meydan.
Varian has maintained over the past few weeks that Postponed remains in similar form as he was when he won on this card 12 months ago and it is not difficult to expect a similarly effortless victory this time around.
It is hard for some to feel really passionate about Postponed, primarily because he is so dependable and is handled with unflustered brilliance by Varian. There have been no dramas since the horse was sensationally switched across Newmarket alongside 35 others from Luca Cumani’s stable in September 2015, and everything about the horse, including his fluid action, happens with military efficiency.
No horse has won the Dubai City Of Gold twice, and until Postponed completed the double last season, no winner had ever gone on to land the Dubai Sheema Classic.
Of all Postponed’s rivals the most dangerous could well be one of the four that will carry the royal blue colours of Godolphin. Emotionless came charging with a greatly encouraging run on the dirt last time when third in a handicap but is switched to turf by trainer Charlie Appleby and will continue to be ridden by William Buick.
Saeed bin Suroor runs three in the shape of recent winner Prize Money, the mount of Adrie De Vries, while Jim Crowley will be aboard Memorial Day and Oisin Murphy will guide Famous Kid.
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