William Haggas flew the flag for British trainers on Thursday night, claiming his second victory in the Dubai World Cup Carnival with his plucky mare, Sooraah.
Sooraah came back to form strongly from a disappointing eighth on her January run at Meydan Racecourse. She scooted from mid-pack to the front under Ryan Moore to win the opening 1,600m handicap by a length-and-a-half.
"She came back lame after her first run here and so we gave her a bit of a rest," said Maureen Haggas, the wife of trainer. "That was probably the best thing we could have done.
"I think when you come out here you need to run them off the plane and then let them acclimatise and she was just getting to that tricky time when she had her first run.
"All credit must go to Kelly Harrison, the girl who rides her in the mornings. She's done a tremendous job with her and said before the race that she was really happy with the mare."
Sooraah, who is owned the UAE's Mohammed Jaber Abdullah, son of prominent owner, Jaber Abdullah who, coincidentally, won the evening's second race with Zain Shamardal, may race in a week's time.
What is certain is that Sooraah will be going to stud when she returns to the UK.
"This is her now," said Haggas. "She's won a Listed race in the UK and now she's won in the Carnival.
She has an entry for next week but we will see how she comes out of this race."
William Haggas will be in Dubai next week to oversee the care of his World Cup day hopes, Beaten Up and Entifaadha. Both have entries for the Dubai Sheema Classic and Dubai World Cup, but Haggas said Beaten Up would be more likely to take up a Sheema Classic place.