3 minute read
The Jebel Hatta is the turf highlight on Super Saturday at the Meydan and as has been the theme of the carnival to date - Godolphin have a strong hand.
Strong as their claims may be, that pair don't appeal from a betting point of view but in the turf Group 1 on the card, the Jebel Hatta, things are a bit more competitive on the track and in the betting.
It's still very blue, but there are multiple chances, headed up by early favourite Dream Castle who runs for Saeed Bin Suroor.
Dream Castle follows the Benbatl path from last season, winning the Singspiel and the Al Rashidiya en route to the Jebel Hatta albeit with his ratings slightly behind his well performed stablemate at the same point in time.
Benbatl failed to fire in the Hatta but there is little reason to think that Dream Castle won't run his race with his latest a nice step forward on the fresh win while still leaving good room to improve again this time out.
He holds a favourite's chance but there is appeal against him with the Zabeel Mile - the other key lead-up - rating similarly and throwing up a couple that could improve sharply for their runs there.
One of those in Century Dream who was no match for the winner but ran a very solid race and looks sure to put himself in the finish again. Perhaps more appealing, though, was the run of the fourth placed Wootton who was ridden patiently and found traffic at a crucial stage before closing nicely in his first race under the care of Charlie Appleby.
Wootton has a good horses profile, sent out at the top of the betting when fourth in a French 2000 Guineas and placed in a St James Palace Stakes when again well fancied in the betting. Appleby saddles four in the race, including last year's winner Blair House, and it is perhaps telling that top stable jock William Buick switches onto Wootton in what shapes as an early target race for the horse.
Loxley is another Appleby-trained runner that has to be considered. He was campaigned over further last season but his best pieces of form were around 2000m so there is little knock on him at the trip. He can run well but concedes race fitness to horses that have form ahead of him which does make for no easy task.
A similar scenario unfolds in the Dubai City of Gold Stakes where Appleby saddles a former French galloper with good recent racing under his belt against one resuming having shown big promise in Europe last season.
Spotify and Racing History ran 1-2 in the Dubai Millenium Stakes while Old Persian has his first run since the St Leger back in September, but it's worth noting that the Dubai Millenium was run at a crawl and the form doesn't look bulletproof given that.
Old Persian posted a cracking time when knocking off subsequent Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter at York last year and that form makes him an absolute stand out - race fit or not.
SUGGESTED BETS: Back Wootton and Old Perisan on Super Saturday at the Meydan.
