Trainer Doug Watson has enjoyed a landmark season, thanks in large part to the unbeaten G3 UAE Oaks winner Polar River (Congrats), but the U.S. expatriate could be in line to get the most important night of the UAE season off to a strong start with three entrants in the G2 Godolphin Mile, including last-start winners One Man Band (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and Cool Cowboy (Kodiak Kowboy).
One Man Band would be riding a five-race win streak were it not for his second-place finish to Godolphin's G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen entrant Confrontation (War Pass) in the G3 Firebreak S. Feb. 4. He has had a busy campaign, winning two handicaps over a mile and one over 1900 metres before dropping down to 1400 metres when last seen visiting the winner's circle Feb. 25.
Cool Cowboy, meanwhile, has been similarly consistent, hitting the board in each of his four starts since the turn of the calendar. He finished second to former Golden Shaheen winner Reynaldothewizard (Speightstown) in the Listed Dubawi S. Jan. 14 and took a seven-furlong handicap a week later. He finished second to Maftool (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) in a handicap over this track and trip Feb. 18, and was a dominant 3 3/4 length winner of this race's local prep, the G3 Burj Nahaar S., on Super Saturday Mar. 5.
Watson's stable jockey Pat Dobbs has elected to ride Cool Cowboy, and the trainer said, “I think they're very close to each other talent-wise. Cool Cowboy has a little more versatility. He can go forward, or if he gets left a little bit he can definitely come from behind too.”
“One Man Band, who is an excellent horse, is kind of one-dimensional as far as speed goes,” Watson added. “He needs to be up on the lead or very close to the lead.”
The Watson pair's task will not be made easy by the presence of Godolphin's talented but quirky Marking (Bernardini). That 'TDN Rising Star,' a notorious bad behaver in the gate, unshipped jockey James Doyle at the start of his intended local debut, the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint, Feb. 11, but made up for that glitch when winning a six-furlong handicap two weeks later. The chestnut took nearly the length of that contest to find his feet, however, and the decision was made to bring him back up to the trip over which he won an Aqueduct allowance in November.
Sloane Avenue (Candy Ride {Arg}) had to settle for an excruciating second in last year's Godolphin Mile, and he looks to go one better having made just one start since, a second in a Kempton conditions race Feb. 24.
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