Dubai

Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) will return in the Betway Churchill S. at Lingfield next weekend before an intended start in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase in December. The 4-year-old, who claimed the G2 King Edward VII S. and G2 Great Voltigeur S. at three, had an abbreviated two-start campaign this season. Second by 2 1/4 length in the G2 Jockey Club S. at Newmarket making his 4-year-old bow, Pyledriver clawed his way to a neck victory in Epsom's G1 Coronation Cup over Al Aasy (Ire)...

Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum, daughter of the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will continue her father's legacy at Shadwell Estate, with Angus Gold, Shadwell's longtime racing manager, telling Racing Post that Sheikha Hissa will take over as head of the powerful racing and breeding operation. The news comes on the heels of Monday's announcement that Shadwell Stud Director Richard Lancaster would step down. "We've been communicating with Sheikha Hissa over the past couple of months since Sheikh Hamdan sadly died and I'm currently on my way back...

DARRS Inc.'s Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid), winner of last Saturday's G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan, is scheduled to return home this week, according to trainer Brendan Walsh. "He will quarantine in Chicago for 48 hours and then should be down [at Keeneland] Sunday or Monday," Walsh confirmed Thursday morning. An astute $75,000 claim by the current connections in January 2018, the 8-year-old gelding landed his first graded stakes score of his career in Dubai, as Walsh looked on flying from Miami to New Orleans. "I was trying to...

Morning action at Meydan continued apace on Tuesday, with several Dubai World Cup night contenders stretching their legs just a few days before the blockbuster nine-race card on Saturday. Last year's JRA Champion Dirt Horse and G1 Champions Cup hero Chuwa Wizard (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), who goes for the $12-million Dubai World Cup, galloped over the dirt track on Tuesday morning with regular pilot Keita Tosaki in the irons. He was ninth in the Saudi Cup in February. "He has trained well so far," said Tosaki. "The trainer told...

Less than a week remains before the $26.5-million Dubai World Cup card, split between eight Thoroughbred races and one for Purebred Arabians. Horses were out in force over the Meydan track on Monday morning, with several turning in final works prior to the big night. Most of the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup hopefuls completed maintenance works on Monday, but one of the American contenders-Jesus' Team (Tapiture), runner-up in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. on Jan. 23--galloped 1 1/2 circuits. "We went to the track with him very...

Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) is in good form ahead of a start in the $5-million G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan on Mar. 27. Last seen in action taking the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin in December, the Coolmore partners-owned 4-year-old also saluted in the 2020 G3 Gordon S. at Goodwood in July, ran second in the Aug. 19 Great Voltigeur S. and returned to the winner's circle in the G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp in September. Fifth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup...

DARRS Inc.'s Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid), who recently passed the $1-million mark in career earnings, will make his next start in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200 meters on the straight) on the Dubai World Cup undercard at Meydan Racecourse Mar. 27, trainer Brendan Walsh confirmed Wednesday. A six-time stakes winner and second in the GI Highlander S. in 2019, the 8-year-old ran home gamely to be a close fourth off a very wide trip in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and has since rounded out the...

The G1 Dubai Sheema Classic is a potential March target for G1 St Leger second Berkshire Rocco (Fr) (Sir Percy {GB}) according to trainer Andrew Balding. Since taking the Listed Noel Murless S. in October, the colt returned to be the runner-up in the H H the Amir Trophy in Qatar on Feb. 20. "He ran a smashing race," said Balding. "It was his first run for a while, and he's entitled to come on for that. All being well, he might head towards Meydan for the Sheema Classic. He's...

Star Safari (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) gave trainer Charlie Appleby his third and final win on the card in the G3 Dubai Millennium S. after the earlier success of Bright Melody (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the second race and Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Listed Meydan Classic. Removed from the early cavalry charge, Star Safari raced last bar two as Halimi (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) motored along at the head of affairs. He began to slowly take closer order 500 metres from home and launched a four-wide bid...

Turf races rule the day in Thursday's Dubai World Cup Carnival card at Meydan. Each of the quintet of races for Thoroughbreds take place on the grass, with the $195,000 G3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy Sponsored by Gulf News the crown jewel. Held over 2810 metres, the contest drew 2019 race winner and G3 Deutsches St Leger hero Ispolini (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) who anchors the Godolphin brigade. Charlie Appleby's bay has been seen on the racecourse only sparingly, and he was in action only twice last year with a staying...

The Dubai World Cup Carnival continues at Meydan on Thursday, and the seven-race card is loaded with six stakes races-five at group level-a little over two weeks in advance of the Mar. 6 Super Saturday card. The G2 Zabeel Mile has been won the past two years by Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby. Per usual, the royal blue is well represented, and the 110-rated D'Bai (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) leads the foursome. The 2019 G2 Al Fahidi Fort victor was only three-quarters of a length back in second when defending his title...

Following a directive by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Deputy Chief of Dubai Police and Public Security, the Pat Smullen Conditions S. will be held at Jebel Ali on Feb. 19, the racecourse announced on Tuesday. The late Smullen, a multiple champion jockey in his native Ireland, passed away from pancreatic cancer last September. During his career as a jockey, he was the retained jockey for Jebel Ali Stables in Dubai from 2000-2002, and was also a stable jockey for His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al...