Somoud came good on his third start of the season to land the President’s Cup Prep for Purebred Arabians under Antonio Fresu in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Trained by Jean de Roualle for Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed’s Yas Racing, and the winner of the President’s Cup in the last two years, Somoud took the lead approaching the 200-metre mark and kept on well to win from Richard Mullen and Mujeeb by a short head.
Fresu completed a treble on the night after earlier steering rookie trainer Hamad Al Marar’s ES Sudani to victory and then bagging the Abu Dhabi Colts Classic on Ahmed Al Mehairbi’s Fadwaan.
Tadhg O’Shea completed a double on Jaber Bittar’s Muram, an impressive winner of the Fillies Classic, and the concluding thoroughbred handicap on Bhupat Seemar’s Western Writer.
Meanwhile, Meydan Racecourse stages the third meeting of the 2023 Dubai World Cup Carnival on Friday, highlighted by the Group 2 Zabeel Mile and the Listed UAE 1000 Guineas.
Godolphin appear to have strong claims in the 1,600m turf feature as they are represented by five of the eight runners.
Saeed bin Suroor won the prize last year with Real World under Daniel Tudhope and the master of the Al Quoz Stables account for three of the five Godolphin runners.
Pat Cosgrave partners Land Of Legends while Pat Dobbs is on Desert Fire and Louis Steward on Laser Show.
“Desert Fire, Land Of Legends and Laser Show have been working well, but this looks a tough race for the three of them,” Bin Suroor said.
“Desert Fire has won over this course and distance in the past, so dropping back to a mile won’t be a problem, while Land Of Legends enjoys racing around Meydan.
“Laser Show has had soundness issues, which has kept him off the track for a long time, but I was pleased with his latest piece of work and he is ready to go again.”
Fellow Godolphin handler Charlie Appleby has landed this prize five times since 2015 and has a pair entered with William Buick opting to ride Master Of The Seas and James Doyle on board Modern News.
“Master Of The Seas hasn’t been seen since the Earl of Sefton but has settled in well out in Dubai,” Appleby said of the five-year-old Dubawi gelding.
“Modern News is a consistent horse, who showed some decent form in Group and Listed races in the UK last year.”
Completing the line-up are David O’Meara’s Shelir, Michael O’Callaghan’s I Am Superman and Ahmad bin Harmash’s Erzindjan.
The UAE 1000 Guineas over the mile trip on the dirt surface appears to be an exciting and wide open race.
Mimi Kakush, under Mickael Barzalona, was an impressive winner of the trial over the 1,400m distance four weeks ago, and the Frenchman retains the ride trained by Salem bin Ghadayer.
Results
5pm: Jebel Jais – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: AS Jezan, Oscar Chavez (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: ES Sudani, Antonio Fresu, Hamad Al Marar
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Somoud, Antonio Fresu, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Muram, Tadhg O’Shea, Jaber Bittar
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Fadwaan, Antonio Fresu, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Western Writer, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
