Dubai Carnival beads: Ageless Wizard defies time, de Kock’s back on Derby trail

Whenever I think, “surely age must be catching up with him by now,” the remarkable Reynaldothewizard goes out and defies the passage of time.

“Reynaldo” did it again in his 11-year-old (!) debut last Thursday, when turning a three-peat in Meydan’s featured Dubawi S., a stepping stone to the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1). He’d actually won this race in 2013 too, under its former guise as a conditions event, before its elevation to a listed stakes.

The two-time defending champion didn’t have it handed to him either. On the contrary, Reynaldo had to run right up to his best to overtake Muarrab – who’s only the reigning Golden Shaheen winner. Although Muarrab was pressed early by Desert Force, he appeared to be traveling well within himself, and flicked his rival off turning into the stretch. Once Muarrab opened up in full flight, you would have thought the race was over.

But here came Reynaldo with an irresistible late surge to deny Muarrab by a half-length. The final time for the about six-furlong dash (1:10.66) was just off Muarrab’s track record of 1:10.20 set in the Mahab al Shimaal (G3) on Super Saturday 2016.

The strung-out field was a further testimony to just how well the top two ran. Former Jerry Hollendorfer trainee Wild Dude checked in another 4 1/4 lengths astern in third. Desert Force paid the price for going with Muarrab early by backpedaling to a distant fourth, beaten a total of about 10 lengths.  

Wild Dude, a multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire on the Southern California sprint scene, is eligible to improve for this outing. After his victory in last May’s Kona Gold (G2), he was sold as a prospect for the lucrative Korea Sprint and transferred to Irish-based Michael Halford. Wild Dude found the deep surface at Seoul too much for him and plodded home ninth. Unraced since that September 11 venture, he ran evenly in this reappearance, and only his second start for Halford.

Desert Force was much more disappointing, but his two prior romps had come at about seven furlongs, and the heat at this shorter trip was simply too much. He’d looked too progressive to throw him overboard now, so look for him to regroup going further for trainer Doug Watson.

 

Meanwhile, Reynaldo keeps adding to his legendary career, and advertising the masterful horsemanship of Satish Seemar. He would be no more than a feel-good story if he were dropping into softer spots to pad his win column – the gentle accommodation for a horse in the twilight of his career, easing his way into a well-earned retirement. But that’s not the case at all here. Seemar has kept him going at a high level for Carnival after Carnival, years on end, and the 2013 Golden Shaheen winner will remain a force for the 2017 edition.

“We will probably wait for Super Saturday now,” Seemar said, alluding to the Mahab al Shimaal as the final prep on March 4. “He is just a great horse to have in the yard. I feel that this could have been his best race. I know he’s a Group 1 winner, but he showed today that he still really wants to win.

“It does not happen very often, but I am speechless,” winning rider Richard Mullen said. "What can you say? I love this horse; he was my first Group 1 winner and he just keeps producing the goods.

“They went quick but I was able to stay within striking distance and, once we hit the straight, I always knew he would find plenty. He’s the horse of a lifetime.

“Satish and the whole team deserve so much credit; to keep a horse of his age in this shape and form is far from easy and he is a real star for everyone involved.”

Sorceror’s apprentice? Reynaldo’s younger stablemate, North America, stayed perfect since joining Seemar, and switching to dirt, with a front-running success over a metric mile. Part of a triple on the night for Seemar and Mullen (along with Town’s History in a non-Carnival race for lower-rated locals), North America was extending his streak to three in a row. 

The Godolphin cast-off has climbed the ladder rapidly this Meydan season. After breaking his maiden at this track and trip by eight lengths on November 17, North America trounced them in his first dirt handicap attempt December 29, and proved ready to stare down a higher grade of opponent on Thursday. The veteran Heavy Metal forced him to find extra, but North America raised his game in response and pulled 1 1/4 lengths clear.