As the mega-watt action of next week’s Super Saturday and Dubai World Cup night looms large, the racing at Meydan Racecourse is staged increasingly in the shadows of those greater prizes.
It means that on Thursday night’s six-race card you need to comb through the 56 runners to find a horse that is capable of making a big impression in four weeks on the most valuable night of racing in the world.
The feature is the Zabeel Mile, a turf contest in which Trade Storm bids to defend the crown that he so comfortably collected 12 months ago.
Trade Storm did not graduate to World Cup night honours, however, finishing fourth in the Dubai Duty Free to Godolphin’s Sajjhaa.
The English raider has lost his lustre somewhat as he has not won since his victory here in Dubai and has to win tonight after his 10th-place pipe-opener last month to have any hope of entering the winners’ enclosure on March 29.
Looking elsewhere for clues, Godolphin’s Ihtimal appears to have the UAE Oaks at her mercy, and in all likelihood the filly’s Classic will be her last race in Dubai before she returns to England to contest the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket in May.
Step forward, then, the American challenger Zee Bros. It was the intention of trainer Seth Benzel to test Zee Bros’s credentials as a World Cup night runner in the Al Shindagha Sprint won by Russian Soul a two weeks ago. Because of a fever, which frustratingly lasted only a day, the four-year-old bay colt skipped it and lines up in the Swaidan Trading, Heavy Equipment Division Trophy over 1,200 metres on Tapeta instead.
It has allowed Benzel to get some serious work in to his runner, and on Friday Zee Bros went 1,000m in 61 seconds, finishing the final 200m in a little over 11 seconds.
Zee Bros showed that he was a sprinter to be reckoned with last year when he blitzed a strong field in the Chick Lange Stakes on the undercard of the Preakness Stakes in the United States.
His talent is such that he jumps the gate, pins his ears back and goes for the wire. It was a style that saw him get into trouble against more able sprinters and, without a win since Pimlico in May, Benzel has been trying to get his charge to settle more.
“Some US sprinters need to have their tactics changed when they come over here, which is more of a European style of racing,” Benzel said. “Speed isn’t as dangerous here as it is in the US. You have to get your horse to relax early and come home strong.”
To assist Zee Bros in the saddle is Shane Foley, the man of the moment who had 51 rides before he finally rode a winner at Meydan last month. The Irishman has ridden four winners from just 14 rides this season and can help his mount settle better across a shorter distance after two tries over 1,400m at Belmont in June and Santa Anita in December for Bob Baffert.
“He was fast last year during his three-year-old career, but he did race up against some of the fastest sprinters in the country,” Benzel said.
“They tried to stretch him out and I can see why they did it, but I’m excited to drop him back to sprinting and he could be a contender for the Dubai Golden Shaheen.”
Trade Storm looking to return to form
Trainers are often creatures of habit and Trade Storm should be spot on for a defence of his title in Thursday night’s Zabeel Mile at Meydan Racecourse.
Trade Storm was a lacklustre 10th behind Mujaarib in the Al Rashidiya at the Dubai course last month, but he put in a similarly flaccid effort last season before he won on his second start at Meydan 12 months ago.
English trainer David Simcock expects better from his Qatar Racing representative and is preparing to back up Trade Storm at next week’s Super Saturday card as he continues his preparation aimed at achieving a better result in the Dubai Duty Free on March 29 than last season’s fourth place.
“He needed that first run badly,” Simcock said. “He has come out of that in great form and is exactly where we want him to be weight-wise. He improved an awful lot from his first run last season and we expect him to do so again.”
Since the Zabeel Mile was upgraded to a Group 2 in 2010, it has been won by Imbongi, Rileyskeepingfaith and Do It All.
None made a big impression on World Cup night, and the form from Thursday night’s race will likely have little impact at next month’s extravaganza.
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