Salute The Soldier won the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 to become the only horse to win the feature prize of the Dubai World Cup Carnival’s Super Saturday meeting.
Trained by Fawzi Nass and with Adrie de Vries in the saddle, Salute The Soldier took up the running from the final furlong to power ahead of Bendoog and First Constitution by two lengths and a length and-a-half respectively.
Salute The Soldier, who also won the prize in 2021, finished fifth in the Dubai World Cup in 2021 and appears to be primed for another crack at the Dh12million prize on March 25.
“We went a good pace and I was able to give him a nice breather before the straight. It took him a while to pick up but then he stayed on very strongly and his stamina, perhaps an issue in the past, has seemingly improved,” De Vries said.
The trainer-jockey combination was completing a double on the night after Go Soldier Go collared Ray Dawson on Mr Raj to clinch the Listed Al Bastakiya, the Group 2 UAE Derby trial, by a head.
The turf feature, the Group 1 Jebel Hatta, went to Musabah Al Muhairi’s Alfraeeq in the Shadwell colours. Alfraeeq, under Dane O’Neill, got up in the last few strides to edge out El Drama and Godolphin’s Master Of The Seas in a photo.
“The runner-up just kept battling but my lad is tough and deserved a win this season after some big efforts in defeat. He took a while to settle in after arriving from France but Musabah and his team have done a great job with him,” O’Neill said.
Godolphin’s Charlie Appleby and the UAE champion trainer Bhupat Seemar also celebrated a double each.
Global Storm led a one-two finish for the royal blues in the Group 2 Dubai City Of Gold and Al Suhail was a convincing winner of the Ras Al Khor, both under William Buick.
“Global Storm is a solid campaigner out here – he ran well in this race last year behind Hukum – and it was a race that we thought could set up well for him. William gave him a lovely ride on the front end and was able to dictate,” Appleby said.
“We were obviously delighted with Al Suhail, who has put up another good performance to break his own track record. We will most likely bring him back to the UK and look at the nice seven-furlong races in Europe over the summer.”
Seemar took home the Group 3 Burj Nahaar with Discovery Island with James Doyle in the saddle and the concluding Group 3 Mahab Al Shimaal with newcomer Sound Money under Mickael Barzalona.
