Dubai Carnival beads: Guineas joy for Saudi, treble for de Vries

Saudi shippers face a substantial class hike when venturing onto the international stage at the Dubai Carnival – all the more so for a race like the UAE 1000 Guineas that draws the leading members of the division at Meydan. For that reason, Nashmiah (center, green cap) had something to prove last Thursday, and the Saudi-bred longshot answered every question to remain unbeaten.

Trained by Nicholas Bachalard (who also had Ron the Greek in his Saudi days), Nashmiah is herself the daughter of two Saudi-breds. Her sire, Alnajim Althakeb, is an Unbridled’s Song half-brother to Bellamy Road who was imported in utero. Nashmiah’s dam, the Blue Burner mare Qereerah, is in turn a half-sister to Mokarab, winner of their homeland’s coveted Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup (aka King’s Cup) in 2010.

Nashmiah won her first three starts at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, two of them at a mile, including the local Group 1 King Fahad bin Abdulaziz Cup in her sophomore debut. In hindsight, it was significant that Mickael Barzalona rode her in Riyadh. Her determined victory there presaged her hard-fought decision, with Barzalona back aboard, in the UAE 1000 Guineas.

“I knew she was tough after my win on her in Saudi last time,” Barzalona said. “I was able to give her a bit of a breather which really helped but then she was very tough and just kept battling.”

Up front throughout, Nashmiah edged clear turning for home, then had to dig deep to hang on from Nomorerichblondes. The runner-up, a well-beaten seventh in the Guineas trial, improved markedly with the addition of cheekpieces.

Conversely, Guineas trial winner Really Special was a lackluster fifth. The night may have been over for her early when she reacted to a bump at the start. Lit up, with her head in the air as Jim Crowley tried to settle her, the Godolphin filly just didn’t appear happy. It also didn’t help that she covered an extra 10 meters (about 33 feet), according to Trakus.

Really Special clung to her left lead while never leveling off down the stretch, calling to mind the hypothesis that she’s just not as fluent on the dirt. Her class helped her get away with it last time, but adversity here may have exposed it. A better trip in the UAE Oaks (G3) February 23 could produce a different result. Still, considering her European classic potential, I wonder if trainer Saeed bin Suroor would pack her off to Newmarket instead of prolonging her Carnival. 

 

The Guineas upset has scrambled the UAE Oaks picture. Nashmiah wasn’t exactly looking for more ground at the end of the metric mile, accomplished in a slow 1:40.75. Another form reversal looks likely in the about 1 3/16-mile Oaks. Doug Watson’s Complimenti could be sneaky next time, having been second to Really Special in the trial and now fourth in the Guineas, both from bad posts. Godolphin’s Calare is the type to relish the stretch-out, and the Charlie Appleby trainee was compromised by saddle slippage when seventh in the Guineas. That list won’t include Fursa, who was tailed-off with a cardiac arrhythmia. Mike de Kock isn’t going to risk her on the dirt again.

A ‘Nobel’ defeat on debut: Although bin Suroor’s Top Score deserves credit for his perseverance in the Meydan Classic Trial, near-miss firster Nobelium is one to follow.

Indeed, the $100,000 conditions race on turf is a pretty salty spot for a career debut, and Nobelium almost pulled it off for local trainer Rashed Bouresly. Or strictly speaking, he was in the process of winning it when inexperience told. Nobelium did not hesitate to split foes like a pro, in a spot some might have been a bit shy about. His rookie mistake was idling a little once he’d headed Top Score in deep stretch. That let his street-wise rival come back to rob him on the line in 1:24.45 for about seven grassy furlongs.

Winning rider Adrie de Vries, scoring the first of his three on the night, admitted as much.

“I thought I was beaten,” de Vries said. “The runner-up went past us easily but then, perhaps, his lack of experience counted against him, whereas my horse has plenty of experience.”

Nobelium wasn’t only conceding an experience edge. His jockey, Bruno Reis, put up two pounds over, so he was actually giving that weight to Top Score. Reis wasn’t unduly hard on his mount, preferring an energetic hand ride. It’s an open question whether stronger encouragement would have made a difference, but I won’t fault Reis for that. Better to err on the side of caution than leave a youngster disheartened first time out.

The pair were 2 1/4 lengths clear of de Kock’s Daqeeq. An Australian-bred who was carrying the co-top weight of 130 pounds, Daqeeq was making only his second start.