Bin Suroor saddles 200th Carnival Winner as Godolphin land Dubai World Cup five-timer at Meydan

The five race success for Godolphin included two Group 2 Thoroughbred races, the first of which was the 1800 metre Al Rashidiya which was taken out by the bin Suroor-trained Promising Run.

Ridden by Jim Crowley, Promising Run, the only filly among the seven runners, produced a career best effort to win by half a length from the Mike de Kock-trained Light The Lights.

Christophe Soumillon tried to make all the running aboard the runner-up and it was a tactic which had most of the opposition in trouble entering the straight. However Crowley and Promising Run pulled the leader back and unleashed a decisive challenge in the final 200 metres to lead close to home which they would hold onto.

When entries were revealed earlier in the week, Promising Run was also given the option of contesting the 1600 metre Group 2 Cape Verdi, but Bin Suroor was content to allow last year’s winner, Very Special, to defend her crown. She duly justified that decision by becoming the first dual winner of the race and in doing so gave her trainer a 200th win to become the most successful handler in the history of the Dubai World Cup Carnival.

With Crowley again at the helm, Very Special was settled just behind the speed set by Soumillon who was riding Tahanee and they stayed on strongly to lead close to home, eventually winning by half a length from Opal Tiara in second and Muffri’Ha in third.

Godolphin were winners again in the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial which was won by the Charlie Appleby-trained Fly At Dawn.

Run over 1400 metres on the dirt, Pat Dobbs tried to make all the running aboard Cosmo Charlie for Doug Watson and when they kicked clear early in the straight it looked likely to be a winning move. However Mickael Barzalona and Fly At Dawn proved wise to the move and were able to hit the front in the final 100 metre to win comfortably by a length from Cosmo Charlie, with Top Score a distant six and a quarter lengths further back in third.

Appleby’s Baccarat provided the final honours for Godolphin in the Borealis, a 1200 metre turf handicap, as they lead stablemate Jungle Cat home by a neck, with Final Venture in third.

The Aabar Properties handicap run over 2410 metres also went the way of Godolphin in the shape of winner Gold Trail and runner-up Prize Money.

The only Purebred Arabian contest of the evening’s racing at Meydan was the opener, the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 which was won in style by the Elise Jeanne-trained Faucon Du Loup.

Sent to the front by Richard Mullen in the race run over 2200 metres, he was soon headed by RB So Rich but was always travelling strongly just in behind. The pair regained the initiative 900 metres from home though from RB Dixie Burning who had led briefly, and they powered home to register a comprehensive victory, breaking the track record in the process.

The Godolphin dominance on Thoroughbred races was broken by trainer Salem bin Ghadayer who saddled both first and second in a 1600 metre dirt handicap.

Royston Ffrench appeared to have secured the race with a positive ride from the front on Frankyfourfingers, but they were taken out of the reckoning in the final 200 metres by stable companion Heavy Metal, who provided a second winner on the card for Barzalona.