Third Stakes Winner For The Late Improbable In Dubai

GALACTIC STAR (g, 3, Improbable–Stella's Dream, by Pioneerof The Nile) gave his late sire his third worldwide stakes winner in the Listed Al Bastakiya presented by DP World at Meydan on Friday. The 1900-metre dirt race is a prep for the Apr. 5 G2 UAE Derby over the same track and trip on Dubai World Cup night. Honest Moon (Honest Mischief) led with Galactic Star moving up to race just off that rival's shoulder into the first turn. Saving every inch of ground in a stalking fourth on the backside, the eventual winner was in a good rhythm. Honest Moon still led at the 700-metre mark, with Galactic Star looming closer and the hard-working Undefeated (Vekome) in third. Changing gears, he wore down Honest Moon by the 150-metre mark and had enough left to hold off the late surge of Heart Of Honor (Honor A. P.) by a head. Honest Moon was third, a length behind.

“I always knew they liked this horse a lot,” said rider Richie Mullen. “He's got his quirks but he's full of ability and talent. There were question marks over the trip but Bhupat said ride him as if he gets it. It helps if they're going two turns because they come back to you a bit easier going into that first turn and horses can just relax a little bit more than they do over a mile.”

A debut winner at Jebel Ali over 1200 metres in January, the gelding ran third in a Meydan affair upped to 1600 metres on Feb. 7. Friday's effort was his third lifetime start.

He was selected by trainer Bhupat Seemar for 185,000gns out of the Powerstown Stud draft of the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale in April of 2024. Tom Whitehead's operation had purchased the chestnut for $145,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from Warrendale Sales. His dam was unraced, and has a yearling colt by Nashville still to come. She was covered by Americanrevolution last spring, with Galactic Star one of five winners from six to race. The second dam, the stakes-placed Meadow Dream (Meadowlake), is a half-sister to GII Pegasus Handicap hero Forty One Carats (Tactical Advantage).

AL BASTAKIYA PRESENTED BY DP WORLD-Listed, AED800,000, Meydan, 2-21, 3yo, 9 1/2f, 1:55.18, fs.
1–GALACTIC STAR, 121, g, 3, by Improbable
                1st Dam: Stella's Dream, by Pioneerof The Nile
                2nd Dam: Meadow Dream, by Meadowlake
                3rd Dam: Aly's Jul, by Alysheba
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($145,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; 185,000gns
2yo '24 TATBRE). O-Blue Blood Racing Syndicate – Kamlesh
Mahtani & Dhruv Sahni; B-Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds LLC (KY);
T-Bhupat Seemar; J-Richard Mullen. AED480,000. Lifetime
Record: 4-2-0-1, AED540,700.
2–Heart Of Honor (GB), 121, c, 3, Honor A. P.–Ruby Love (Chi),
by Scat Daddy. (USA). (35,000gns Wlg '22 TATDEC;€42,000 Ylg
'23 GOFSEP; €160,000 2yo '24 ARQMAY). O-Jim And Claire
Limited; B-David Redvers Bloodstock (GB); T-Jamie Osborne.
AED160,000.
3–Honest Moon, 121, c, 3, Honest Mischief–Miss Malibu Style,
by Malibu Moon. *1ST BLACK TYPE. ($120,000 Ylg '23
FTNAUG); $75,000 2yo '24 FTIMAY). O-Abdulla Al Mansoori;
Mark A. Toothaker & Allen Poindexter (NY); T-Ahmad bin
Harmash. AED80,000.
Margins: HD, 1, 3. Odds: 18.00, 0.80, 50.00.
Also Ran: Undefeated, Poet Orten (Fr), High Season (GB), Nimble Boy, Exculpation, Royal Favour (GB), Nam Phrik (Brz), Little Foot, Moon Blade, Rafid, Don Vaccaro (Uru), On The Way. Scratched: Faal Khair. Click for the ERA chart & video.

GALACTIC STAR gamely repels the fast-finishing HEART OF HONOR in the Listed Al Bastakiya Stakes, sponsored by @DPWorldUAE 🚀@BhupatSeemar | @rpmullen1 | #DubaiCarnival pic.twitter.com/bbK4db9HKg

— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) February 21, 2025