Dubai Carnival beads: course records for Ertijaal, Championship; breakthrough for Zarak

On a night when the turf took center stage, Ertijaal served blistering notice to his prospective Al Quoz Sprint (G1) rivals. Sheikh Hamdan’s homebred not only broke the course record in last Thursday’s Meydan Sprint (G3), but did so in a way suggestive of his capacity over an extra furlong.

Not aggressive early, or all out at wit’s end, Ertijaal was simply going fast because that’s his normal cruising speed. The Ali Rashid al Rayhi trainee appeared to be traveling well within himself, comfortably stalking the leader, happy in his own zone, before leaving them for dead.

Ertijaal struck the front by the 600-meter (about three-furlong) split in :33.80, according to Trakus, and he was a sight to behold bounding away in :44.47. The Oasis Dream gelding kept on motoring to finish about five furlongs in :55.90.

Godolphin’s Jungle Cat deserves credit for his honorable pursuit, but he couldn’t get any closer than 2 3/4 lengths. There was a gap of 4 1/4 lengths back to Caspian Prince in third – an indication of how Ertijaal’s speed had torched the field.

 

“He is like an aeroplane,” jockey Jim Crowley told Dubai Racing Club. “He is a very good sprinter and with his remarkably long stride you just do not realize how quick you are going on him.”

Crowley’s comment on the broadcast was more colorful: it takes “a hell of an aeroplane to get him off the bridle.”

Ertijaal now owns two marks over the Meydan course, having blazed about six furlongs in 1:08.98 in a handicap back on February 27, 2015. With the Al Quoz Sprint now to be held over that trip, his history of success over longer (including two listed stakes wins at about seven furlongs) is encouraging.

But even more encouraging is the fact that a fully mature Ertijaal appears to be at the peak of his powers this term. The younger Ertijaal probably couldn’t have coped with a world-class field of sprinters over six. My view is a trifle subjective, and the fact that it’s offered from half a world away surely leaves more room for rebuttal. Still, the six-year-old model of Ertijaal strikes me as a bigger, stronger, more powerful machine than the unfurnished-looking speedster of his younger days.

Ertijaal was a close second in last year’s Al Quoz at this about five-furlong trip, his only loss in his last seven starts. If he really is even better at present, the internationals coming in for the Al Quoz on World Cup night can consider themselves forewarned.

“The 1200 meters of the Al Quoz Sprint should really suit him,” Crowley added. “I have ridden some good sprinters but he would be right up there among the best.

“For me, he’s only doing a canter for the first half of the race, I don’t see why he couldn’t gallop out over 1200 meters - he’s won over 1400 meters. He’s like a Rolls Royce. Wherever he goes, he’s an absolute joy to ride.”

Championship form: Also going from strength to strength is Championship, who blitzed to a new course record of 1:35.19 in the Zabeel Mile (G2). Nearly equaling Safety Check’s about seven-furlong mark in the Al Fahidi Fort (G2) last out, Championship readily overtook Safety Check’s 1:35.53 established in the 2015 edition of the Zabeel.