There will be plenty of raised eyebrows at Meydan Racecourse on Friday night if the UAE 2000 Guineas does not go to either Godolphin or Mike de Kock.
For years the two camps have tussled over the first Classic of the season for colts, with the two powerhouses delicately poised at four wins apiece during the past eight seasons.
They are both well-represented in the face-off over 1,800 metres, as well. De Kock would appear to hold the advantage, having saddled Mubtaahij and Ajwad to dominate the trial a month ago.
Mubtaahij will be ridden by Pat Dobbs, while Christophe Soumillon will continue his association with Ajwad.
Mubtaahij used the experience of his non-Carnival victory on New Year’s Eve to power clear by five lengths from his stablemate in that race, which was staged over 200 fewer metres.
Ajwad just held on for second place as Saeed bin Suroor’s Maftool finished with a late thrust under James Doyle, only to be denied by a neck.
Maftool’s challenge literally bit the dust as he was tardy out of the gates, and Doyle struggled valiantly to steer his mount out of the ferocious kickback. As such, he travelled very wide.
Doyle is confident he can make up the five-length margin.
“I think he was one to take out of the trial,” Doyle said. “It was frustrating at the start, and we gave away a lot of ground by being wide and staying out of the kickback.
“If he breaks on terms, he will definitely be a hell of a lot closer. I can see him reversing the form.”
Although Maftool has always run in Godolphin’s royal blue silks, the son of American sire Hard Spun is owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid.
The race conditions dictate that Maftool must carry 55kgs tonight, which is on the borderline of Doyle’s capability.
As such, Paul Hanagan will have the leg-up from the perennial Carnival champion trainer.
Of all the winners since the race became a Group 3 event in 2004, it is De Kock’s Asiatic Boy who stands out like a beacon.
The Argentina-bred colt became the poster horse of the fledgling Carnival, from his debut victory at Nad Al Sheba in 2007 right through to his run down the field in Well Armed’s Dubai World Cup two years after that.
With six wins in Dubai, Asiatic Boy remains the most successful horse to compete at the Carnival, and owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa has gone back to the well to try to repeat the trick.
Asiatic Boy was by Not For Sale, a stallion who not only produced Ajwad but also Gold For Sale, the 2006 Guineas winner.
Horses bred in the southern hemisphere enjoy a good record in the Guineas as they enjoy a maturity advantage, which is why they must carry more weight.
Of De Kock’s two runners in the US$150,000 (Dh551,000) feature, it is Ajwad who has the more scope.
“He has improved,” De Kock said. “Last time, he just ran out of gas.” Godolphin are also represented by Zephuros, Charlie Appleby’s charge who ran fourth behind Mubtaahij in December and subsequently was fifth in the Meydan Classic Trial last week.
There are only three other runners: Burnt Sugar, who made a low-key debut for the China Horse Club in Dubai when 10th last week, Irish raider Unorthodox, and Padlock, trained in Britain by David Simcock and owned by Malih Al Basti, the Meydan board member.
There was a time when Godolphin and Mike de Kock did not always win the UAE 2000 Guineas. Prior to Asiatic Boy’s victory, Gold For Sale struck for American trainer Ian Jory, Jeremy Noseda scored for Britain with Stagelight in 2005, and Satish Seemar is the only other winning trainer with Little Jim in 2004.
Those races were all on dirt, and even with the return to the surface at Meydan, those more competitive days are unlikely to return tonight.
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