By Emma Berry
As so often in racing, the two impostors of triumph and disaster are never far apart but for Charlie Appleby, the disaster of favourite Blue Point (GB) (Shamardal) being scratched at the start of the G1 Al Quoz Sprint was quickly dissolved by the triumph of his stablemate Jungle Cat (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), to give the trainer his first winner on Dubai World Cup night.
Australian raider Illustrious Lad (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) was in the vanguard of the early charge down the grass straight alongside Conquest Tsumani (Stormy Atlantic), with the eventual winner stalking the early pace from his midfield position before moving up to take command with a furlong left to run. The Peter Miller-trained GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic) made similar late headway but, despite a concerted effort, was unable to reel in Jungle Cat and James Doyle, finishing a half-length to deficit. Stormy Liberal's stablemate Conquest Tsunami held on for third from his strong early run to seal a good evening for Miller.
“I don't know what's happened to Blue Point down there, but I knew this second horse Jungle Cat was in the form of his life,” said Appleby of the 6-year-old, who was recording his first win at the highest level after finishing fourth in last year's race. “The team have done a fantastic job and he deserved to win a race like this. I fancied him for this last year when the rain came and thought that was his chance gone, but he's a Group 1 winner now and I'm so proud of him.”
He added, “The carnival has gone so well and, not that there's any pressure going into this, but I'm just very relieved to put one on the board myself. It's a great team effort and I'm delighted for Godolphin and his highness Sheikh Mohammed.”
James Doyle, who was enjoying his second win at the meeting following his G1 Dubai Turf success on Juddmonte's Cityscape (GB) in 2012, said, “[Jungle Cat] stays seven [furlongs] and he jumped quite well so I found myself in the middle of them. But he likes a bit of space so when I had the option after about a furlong and a half to move out and give him a bit more room it was perfect. You can set your clock by him in the mornings, he's fantastic.”
Doyle's delight was tempered by disappointment for his friend and fellow Godolphin jockey William Buick who, prior to the meeting, said he felt that Blue Point was his best chance of a win on the night.
“I could see the vet having a look at Blue Point and it wasn't until I was in the stalls that I heard the announcement saying he was withdrawn,” Doyle added. “I had a game plan in my mind for this fella and it didn't change things for him really.”
Jungle Cat, who started his career in training with Mark Johnston, has been foot-perfect at this year's Dubai Carnival, winning the G2 Al Fahidi Fort and the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint on Super Saturday.
Pedigree notes
The Al Quoz Sprint winner was bred by Darley from the stakes-winning Forest Wildcat mare Mike's Wildcat, who was sold at the age of 12 for €48,000 at the Goffs November Sale of 2012, the year Jungle Cat was born. Along with her four other winners, she is also the dam of the Grade III-placed Texas Wildcatter (Monarchos).
Following Jungle Cat, her seventh foal, the mare has produced another dual winner in Wild Approach (Ire) (Approve {Ire}) but has had no recorded offspring since 2014.
Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
AL QUOZ SPRINT (SPONSORED BY AZIZI DEVELOPMENTS)-G1, $1,000,000 (£713,598/€811,432), MEY, 3-31, NH3yo/up & SH3yo/up, 1200mT, 1:09.37, gd.
1–JUNGLE CAT (IRE), 126, h, 6, by Iffraaj (GB)
1st Dam: Mike's Wildcat (SW-US), by Forest Wildcat
2nd Dam: Old Flame, by Black Tie Affair (Ire)
3rd Dam: Mistyray, by In Reality
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Godolphin; B-Darley (IRE); T-Charlie
Appleby; J-James Doyle. $600,000. Lifetime Record: MGSP-
Eng, 30-7-9-3, $1,525,488. *1/2 to Texas Wildcatter
(Monarchos), GSP-US, MGSP-Can, $288,740. Werk Nick
Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Stormy Liberal, 126, g, 6, Stormy Atlantic–Vassar, by Royal
Academy. ($165,000 RNA '13 FTNAUG; $100,000 2yo '14
OBSJUN) O-Rockingham Ranch & David A Bernsen LLC;
B-Dapple Bloodstock & Gryphon Investments LLC (KY); T-Peter
Miller. $200,000.[bullet ad=”mersant-international”][bullet ad=”us-bred-ky-bred-ft-grad”]3–Conquest Tsunami, 126, g, 6, Stormy Atlantic–Classic Neel,
by El Corredor. ($190,000 yrl '13 KEESEP; $140,000 HRA '16
KEENOV) O-Gary Barber; B-Josham Farms Ltd & Yvonne
Schwabe Thoroghbreds (ON); T-Peter Miller. $100,000.[bullet ad=”hillndale-consigned”][bullet ad=”ontario-bred”][bullet ad=”lanes-end-sales-grad”][bullet ad=”us-bred-keen-grad”]Margins: HF, 1HF, 1 1/4.
Also Ran: Washington DC (Ire), Illustrious Lad (Aus), Richard's Boy, Holding Gold, Faatinah (Aus), Librisa Breeze (GB), Baccarat (Ire), Music Magnate (NZ), Hit The Bid (GB), Magical Memory (Ire). Scratched: Blue Point (Ire), Ertijaal (Ire).
Click for the Racing Post result. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
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