Mutasaabeq continued his love affair with Newmarket and provided trainer Charlie Hills with a nice birthday present by winning the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Joel Stakes for the second straight season.
He put in a brave front-running performance to land the Group Two contest over a mile, which made it five wins from six outings at this course.
Jim Crowley made all on the son of Invincible Spirit to prevail by three-quarters of a length last year, but connections had to endure a tighter finish this term.
Regal Reality threw down a fierce challenge throughout the final furlong but 11-4 favourite Mutasaabeq kept on well enough to oblige by a head, with Chindit half a length further back in third.
“He seems to love it here. It is horses for courses, and he has got a tremendous record at the Rowley Mile and Jim has given him a good ride there,” said Hills.
“I thought he toughed it out well in the end. He has been a good horse over the years, and he has won three Group Twos now. Birthday winners are good, but I’ve not really had many.
“He is not frustrating, but I think when he wins he puts a lot into it and he can’t put too many races together, although he is a little bit older now, and a bit stronger.
“When he won here as a three-year-old he looked unbeatable and he went off not far off favourite for the 2000 Guineas just off winning a conditions race.
“He has been pretty sound through his career, but he has not had too many chances at Group One level. However, I’ve always felt he is up to it.”
A trip to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup could be on the agenda.
Hills added: “He has been a pleasure to train and we will see where we go next. I will speak to Angus (Gold, racing manager) and Sheikha Hissa.
“Whether we have a look at America for the mile there that could be an option. We will certainly think about it. What do you do with a horse that has won three Group Twos. He is a good miler, and he likes fast ground. I’m sure he will handle the trip.
“He only needs to improve a couple of lengths with the travel and the conditions and you never quite know. A track like this the mile tests his stamina, but a two-turn mile (like the one at Santa Anita) will suit him ideally.”
Oisin Murphy excited to be making hurdles debut
Three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy is relishing the prospect of riding over hurdles for the first time at Wincanton on Thursday.
While most of the elite Flat riders are either enjoying some rare downtime during the winter, or plying their trade on foreign soil, Murphy will take up a new challenge in Dorset.
The 28-year-old is fresh from enjoying another successful campaign on the level, which yielded six Group One winners, including Classic success aboard Mawj in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May.
His mount on Thursday is the Cian Collins-trained Irish raider Lets Do This, who will contest the Danny McNab Bookmakers “National Hunt” Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
Explaining his decision, the Killarney-born jockey said: “My uncle is Jim Culloty, who rode winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup (Best Mate), Grand National (Bindaree) and Irish Grand National (Timbera) and also trained a winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup (Lord Windermere).
“I worked with him in my teens, so jumps racing has always been part of my life and it has always been a burning ambition of mine to ride in a jumps race.
“I took out a jumps licence earlier in the year, as at one stage it looked like I might get a ride in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival.
“The programme of Flat racing means it is unlikely that I will be able to ride over hurdles often, but this opportunity arose as I know the trainer and owner of Lets Do This well. It is only a fairly low-grade handicap hurdle on Thursday, so it seemed like a good place to start.
“I have been schooling horses to prepare, though have not yet ridden Lets Do This.”
Murphy is set to be well supported at Wincanton, adding: “Jim might be coming along to see me ride and my friend Denis O’Regan, who recently retired, might be travelling over from Ireland.
“I’ll be walking the course when I get to Wincanton to see what it’s like and will try and seek the advice of the jump jockeys riding there. I am really looking forward to the challenge.”
Several leading Flat jockeys have enjoyed success under both codes, perhaps most notably the late, great Lester Piggott, who partnered 20 winners over hurdles, including the 1954 Triumph Hurdle hero Prince Charlemagne.
More recently, the likes of Richard Hughes, Jamie Spencer and Tom Queally have combined the two disciplines and Murphy hopes to add his name to the list.
He said: “It would be an amazing feeling to get a winner over jumps and I’m not looking beyond Thursday at the moment – I just hope I don’t embarrass myself!”
Southwell and Leicester abandoned
Two more National Hunt meetings have fallen to the weather, with today’s fixture at Southwell and Thursday’s Leicester card both abandoned.
Southwell was hit by a further 9mm of rain overnight, which has left the turf track waterlogged and not fit for racing.
That means there will be no jump racing in Britain for the second successive day, after Ayr and Plumpton were lost yesterday.
There will, however, be all-weather Flat racing at Lingfield this afternoon and Wolverhampton this evening.
Leicester have already thrown in the towel regarding Thursday’s National Hunt fixture, with melting snow and heavy rain leaving the course waterlogged.
The British Horseracing Authority has scheduled an additional all-weather meeting at Southwell for that afternoon.
Frankie Dettori pledged to “rebuild his reputation” on this day in 2012 after receiving a six-month ban for taking a prohibited substance when riding in France.
The three-times British champion jockey, 41, tested positive following a routine examination at Longchamp on September 16.
Dettori’s suspension, from French racing authority France Galop, was backdated from November 20 and ran until May 19, 2013.
In a statement to the PA news agency, Dettori’s solicitor Christopher Stewart-Moore said: “France Galop have announced their finding Frankie Dettori has committed a breach of their rules relating to prohibited substances.
“I have spoken to Frankie since the announcement was made, and he has told me he fully accepts France Galop’s decision.
“He also accepts that he has let down the sport he loves and all those associated with it, as well as the wider public. But most of all, and this is his greatest regret, he has let down his wife and children.
“Racing has been good to Frankie and he knows that his privileged position brings with it responsibility.
“For this reason he is determined to rebuild his reputation when he returns to the saddle.”
Dettori had four rides at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe trials meeting, after which the sample was returned.
The case was then put before an independent medical commission in Paris on November 20, where Dettori spoke via conference call, but it was announced a day later that he was temporarily suspended from competing in France on medical grounds.
The file was passed on to a disciplinary panel of the stewards at France Galop, and Stewart-Moore said his client had received “a sympathetic hearing”.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
