Dubai: Local Time keeps ticking, Almoonqith finds his calling

Godolphin's Local Time clocked her foes once again in last Thursday's U.A.E. Oaks (UAE-G3), but the striking visual impression could be no more than a desert mirage. The evidence of the clock, and the form book, raise questions about her otherwise admirable accomplishment of turning the U.A.E. One Thousand Guineas/Oaks double.

Ironically, in light of her name, the clock has been Local Time's nemesis. She has repeatedly turned in slow times throughout her Meydan dirt conquests. This trend was glaring on Thursday, which witnessed track records in the three other dirt races, all just handicaps -- Price Is Truth covered about six furlongs in 1:10.86, Mashaaref went about seven in 1:23.54, and Pit Stop turned the metric mile in 1:36.59.

Local Time took 2:00.90 to negotiate about 1 3/16 miles. That's more than two full seconds slower than Frankyfourfingers' track record of 1:58.24 established in the Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (UAE-G2) back on February 5. Even allowing for the fact that she's a three-year-old filly, and not an older horse, one would have hoped for a better time on a night when track marks were falling right and left.

To be fair, Local Time deserves respect for compiling a six-race winning streak on three different surfaces, and for becoming the fifth filly to sweep the local Guineas and Oaks. But she is streets ahead of a disappointing, and small, cast of characters in her division this Carnival. Her Godolphin rivals didn't progress as expected, and de Kock's best filly, Ad Idem, sustained setbacks.

 

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor, who has now won 10 runnings of the U.A.E. Oaks, left the door open to a possible tilt in the March 28 U.A.E. Derby (UAE-G2). Bin Suroor sent out the only filly to defeat males in the history of the U.A.E. Derby, Khawlah in 2011. But the fillies were superior to the locally based males that year, and after Khawlah won an epic duel with Aidan O'Brien's invading Master of Hounds, she was sidelined for a year and never the same again.

I'm tempted to think that's partly why bin Suroor skipped last year's U.A.E. Derby when he was in a similar position with Ihtimal, who had doubled up in the 2014 U.A.E. Guineas and Oaks. She instead set her sights on an English classic campaign, finishing a close third in Newmarket's One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and fifth in the Oaks (Eng-G1) at Epsom.

The potential U.A.E. Derby crew looks rock-solid this year, with some above-average males, and I'd rather see Local Time declare Carnival victory and set sail for England.

Safe getaway: That's exactly what trainer Charlie Appleby's doing with Godolphin's Safety Check, who capped a perfect three-for-three Carnival in last Thursday's Zabeel Mile (UAE-G2). His course record of 1:35.53, under top weight of 129 pounds, provided the exclamation point for his productive winter. The four-year-old arrived in Dubai as a handicapper on the fringes of listed stakes class in England, but he's returning with a spruced-up resume. The primary question is whether he can back up his newfound status as a multiple Group 2 hero outside of Dubai. We'll find out in his summer objective, the July 29 Lennox S. (Eng-G2) at Glorious Goodwood.

Zabeel Mile runner-up Dark Emerald initially planned to return home laden with his Carnival spoils, resulting from two slashing wins, a near-miss, and his first career stakes placing. But connections have opted to strike while the iron is hot and try him on dirt in the March 28 Godolphin Mile (UAE-G2), the only race that could fit for him on World Cup night.

One to note coming out of the Zabeel Mile is Earnshaw, who ran a terrific third in his return from a six-month layoff. Stalking the early pace, the well-bred son of Medaglia d'Oro struck the front in the stretch, only to be nabbed late by the razor-sharp Safety Check and Dark Emerald. Earnshaw's performance was vaguely reminiscent of Frankyfourfingers' debut for the same trainer -- Salem bin Ghadayer -- in the Maktoum Challenge Round 1 (UAE-G2). "Franky" then moved forward to set the track record in Round 2, and Earnshaw has considerable upside. Formerly trained by Andre Fabre, the May 19 foal captured the 2013 Prix Thomas Bryon (Fr-G3) and finished second to Ectot in the Criterium International (Fr-G1). He was highly tried last year as well, and could put it together as an older horse.