Dubai Carnival beads: Furious finish, Cool customer

Former Chilean champion Furia Cruzada was expected to need her Dubai debut last Thursday for new trainer Erwan Charpy, all the more so since she was tackling males in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (G2). But she was so happy to be back on dirt that her lack of recency, or fitness, didn’t even matter.

Settled into a snug stalking position early, Furia Cruzada burst between foes to forge clear in the stretch. Only then did her ring-rustiness show. The determined mare nevertheless held on from the fast-finishing Second Summer, who was himself making a local debut for Doug Watson. The pair had the race to themselves, with South Korea’s Power Blade five lengths back in third.

Furia Cruzada became the second distaffer to beat the boys in this stepping stone to the Dubai World Cup (G1). The first, Larrocha, took the honors what seems a lifetime ago in 1996, when it was held over 1 1/2 miles. Furia Cruzada’s accomplishment strikes me as more significant, coming in a now long-established prep at a more informative trip of about 1 3/16 miles. Indeed, this was the same race that Frosted dominated in then-track record time last Carnival.

 

Although Furia Cruzada earned one of her Group 1 laurels on the turf, significantly on heavy going in the 2015 Gran Premio Gilberto Lerena (G1), she was primarily a dirt performer in South America. The daughter of the Storm Cat stallion Newfoundland scored her other top-level victories at about 10 furlongs on dirt – i.e., the World Cup conditions. Both came during her championship campaign at three, in the 2014 Premio Alberto Solari Magnasco (G1) (by 3 1/4 lengths) at Hipodromo Chile and the 2015 Gran Premio Criadores (G1) over her elders at Argentina’s Palermo.

After that third Group 1 trophy, Furia Cruzada was shipped to trainer John Gosden in Newmarket. She reportedly endured a life-threatening bout with pneumonia en route, and Gosden put her away until 2016. She was worth the wait, showing her class despite going winless in Europe. Third to males in her Winter Derby (G3) comeback on Lingfield’s Polytrack, Furia Cruzada was an honorable second in the Duke of Cambridge (G2) at Royal Ascot and the Lancashire Oaks (G2) and third when last seen in the October 23 Prix de Flore (G3).

At this time last year, Furia Cruzada was under consideration for Dubai. Connections wisely held off then, and decided to base her with Charpy for the 2017 Carnival.

“She is very tough,” winning rider Antonio Fresu said. “She loves the dirt and to be honest, she is not 100 percent fit so I am looking forward to her next race.

“I ride her every day so I know. She needed the race so she could have run better.

“I think she will improve.”

Near-misser Second Summer may also move forward. Unraced since disappointing in the June 25 Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1) for Peter Eurton, he’d previously capped a three-race win streak in the Californian (G2).

In other Round 2 postscripts, fourth-placer Le Bernardin sustained a laceration to his right foreleg, according to the stewards’ report. I wish connections had kept to the game plan and freshened him up after his repeat in Round 1 of the Al Maktoum Challenge (G2).

Argentine import Lindo Amor, an encouraging third in Round 1, ran well below form when seventh in Round 2. Trainer Mike de Kock isn’t giving up hope, telling his website: 

Lindo Amor is better than this. He may be best up to a mile, but nothing went his way in this race. He had to run five wide and perhaps it was just a flat effort in his second run here. We’ve seen horses run dismally on the sand only to follow it with a cracking run. I prefer to draw a line through this one. Lindo Amor deserves another chance.

A stayer is born: Charpy was notching a Thursday double, having landed the prior race with seven-year-old veteran Zamaam.

The Shadwell Stud homebred hadn’t won since his French finale in a conditions race on August 29, 2014. Now in his third Carnival, Zamaam appreciated the experimental step up in distance to about two miles. He was also well treated at the weights, carrying six pounds fewer than Godolphin’s last-out winner Red Galileo (who finished third) and 11 fewer than 132-pound highweight Curbyourenthusiasm (who flopped again and must imagine he’s on vacation). Still, Zamaam may have found a new lease on life in the marathon division.