Listed – 1900m – Dirt
Horse Racing
Season
Al Bastakiya – Form Comments
| 1 | Yulong Warrior | Didn’t manage a win when Irish-trained last year but showed promise, and a longer distance and Meydan’s dirt surface clearly suited well when he grabbed an early lead to win a 1600m maiden here last month. Has a good gate to try and repeat those tactics. |
| 2 | Gotti | Promising in the UK last season and now showing ability on the dirt at Meydan. Most recently he raced prominently in a G3 over 1600m here last month. Although thrashed 10 1/2L, the winner looks to be one of the stars of the 2018 Meydan season, and Gotti still kept on to finish second of 15. |
| 3 | Rua Augusta | Mostly beaten a long way on his Meydan starts, but did better last Saturday when keeping on well from midfield to finish second of ten in a maiden over 1600m. However the form of that race was probably not very strong. |
| 4 | Last Voyage | Made his Meydan debut after a four month break in a G3 over 1600m here last month. His winning chance was ruined by a slow start but he did well to get third place with today’s more experienced Meydan rival Gotti finishing second. Improvement expected especially if he gets away quicker. |
| 5 | Roy Orbison | A runner-up to today’s rival Yulong Warrior in a maiden here at Meydan last month, and he ran a fair fifth in a G3 over 1600m subsequently having to race wide from a difficult gate. This longer distance will need to help an awful lot. |
| 6 | Nordic Defense | Showed promise in Scandanavia as a two-year-old and was not disgraced when 6th of 14 in a Listed event on turf over 1600m here earlier this month though never getting into the serious action. An unlikely winner unless dirt transforms him. |
| 7 | Waqqad | Three of his five starts in the UAE this year have come on turf including his 1400m maiden win and he was well behind some of these rivals on dirt in January though he did blow the start. His latest run – on turf – was much better, finishing strongly. |
| 8 | Daffg | Showed early pace to get prominent from a wide gate, winning over 1400m here in January with several of today’s rivals trailing behind. Despite a more favourable gate he did less well in a 1600m G3 here last month, never looking very dangerous. |
| 9 | Racing Country | The Godolphin stables are having a tremendous Meydan season, but Gerald Mosse’s mount looks the least likely winner of their runners in this. He led for most of the way over 1400m here in January, but has been well beaten on turf and dirt since. |
| 10 | Masar | On ratings achieved on turf last year, he is definitely the one to beat here. That includes a G3 win at Sandown and a close 6th – finishing fastest of all after a difficult trip – in a G1 in Del Mar over 1600m last November. He’ll need to handle this surface and a wide gate, but this extra distance is considered a positive. |
| 11 | Arroway | Won a 1000m maiden on dirt at neighbouring Jebel Ali last November but looks well exposed in six starts since, mostly well beaten on both turf and dirt. Not much to recommend him from a wide gate and over an unfamiliar distance. |
| 12 | Mutamayel | This Australian-trained gelding has not made any serious impact in either of his Meydan starts so far. He moves onto a dirt surface here and rises in distance but his prospects do not look strong. |
| 13 | El Chapo | He closed down last season in the UK, winning two 1405m turf handicaps and started his Meydan campaign with a victory – racing prominently – over 1400 on the dirt in January. He blew the start in a 1600m G3 subsequently, doing quite well to finish fourth. |
Others
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09/03/2018
