Easy Niel Score For Dubawi’s Arc-Bound New Bay

After Jack Hobbs (GB) (Halling) and Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) had laid down the gauntlet in recent days ahead of the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and just before the masterclass of Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), New Bay stepped forward to enjoy the desired dress rehearsal for what is shaping up to be a vintage renewal of the Oct. 4 showpiece. For a first try at this mile-and-a-half trip, things could hardly have gone more smoothly and aside from the fact that the G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was patently below-par it looked a valid trial for the keenly awaited course-and-distance feature. Settled perfectly in second early following his pacemaker Countermeasure (GB) (American Post {GB}), the homebred was traveling strongly as the ultimately disappointing Erupt took over at the head of affairs turning for home. Kept in a pocket for a few strides by Ol’ Man River (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) on his outer, he was able to brush that rival aside without any real effort and join the previously unbeaten Niarchos homebred with Vincent Cheminaud still motionless at the quarter pole. As Erupt folded tamely, New Bay was shaken up to take total command and drew away impressively under hand riding to keep a resurgent Silverwave comfortably at safe distance. “That was the ideal prep and exactly what we wanted for the horse,” Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe commented. “It went how we had planned it beforehand and he is still learning. He broke well and settled well and the slight doubt we had about his stamina has been erased now. All being well, it is the Arc for him now.” Despite Erupt’s flop, connections are keen to turn up in three weeks’ time. “You are always disappointed to be beaten, especially when they are undefeated beforehand but I think he had excuses, as he needed the run and the jockey said he was not quickening the same on that ground,” the operation’s racing manager Alan Cooper commented. “The plan is still to run in the Arc.”

Sunday, Longchamp, France
QATAR PRIX NIEL-G2, €130,000, LCP, 9-13, 3yo, c/f, 12fT, 2:35.10, vsf.
1–NEW BAY (GB), 128, c, 3, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Cinnamon Bay (GB) (SW-Fr), by Zamindar
2nd Dam: Trellis Bay (GB), by Sadler’s Wells
3rd Dam: Bahamian (Ire), by Mill Reef
O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Andre Fabre; J-Vincent Cheminaud. €74,100. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, 6 starts, 4 wins, 2 places, €1,307,730. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Silverwave (Fr), 128, c, 3, Silver Frost (Ire)–Miss Bio (Fr), by River Mist. (€60,000 RNA Ylg ‘13 AROCT; €420,000 HRA ‘14 ARNOV). O-HSpirit; B-Mlle Marie-Laure Collet, Jean Collet & Mme Marylene Collet (Fr); T-Alain Couetil. €28,600.
3–Migwar (Ire), 128, c, 3, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Katyusha, by Kingmambo. (€180,000 Ylg ‘13 AROCT). O-H H Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Thani; B-Viktor Timoshenko (IRE); T-Freddy Head. €13,650.
Margins: 2HF, 1 3/4, 7. Odds: 1.20, 6.00, 7.20.
Also Ran: Erupt (Ire), Ol’ Man River (Ire), Ming Dynasty (Fr), Countermeasure (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.