Godolphin Aiming For A 12th Victory In Dubai Millennium

[Wandering Eyes]

The royal blue silks of Godolphin have been carried to victory a record 11 times in the G3 Dubai Millennium Stakes sponsored by Emaar, and on Friday, it is the task of First Conquest (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) to make it a dozen such wins.

A debut winner at Newmarket last April, the bay is on a two-race winning streak, having claimed a handicap there in July, before making his 4-year-old bow a winning one in an 1800-metre turf handicap over this course on Jan. 10.

“First Conquest won impressively on his first start in Dubai and has come forward for the run,” said Appleby. “He is stepping into Pattern company and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the rise in class.

“We are dipping our toe at this level to see where his future lies and will hopefully be a lot wiser afterwards.”

Among his rivals is Asaassi (Fr) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), who is continuing to rise in the ranks after a career-threatening injury. He landed a course-and-distance handicap four weeks back.

“When he came over [from the UK] he had a mystery slice through a tendon and the vets didn't think he'd make it,” said trainer Michael Costa. “We took last season to just do some foundation work with him and this season he's just continued to improve.

“He's really strengthened up and we're really happy with him. He's been quite on the bridle [keen] in his runs so he's still learning to relax and breathe a bit but he's a very happy horse at the moment. He's built up a good association with Ray Dawson, too.”

Filly Vs. Males In Dubai Sprint

Group winner Romantic Style (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) steps up in the Listed Dubai Sprint sponsored by Emaar over 1200 metres of Meydan grass. The filly, second in the G2 Cape Verdi over a mile on Jan. 17, faces 10 males, among them local handicap hero Echo Point (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who won on the same day as the Cape Verdi.

“The Cape Verdi was a messy race, and a mile has always been a slight question mark for Romantic Style in terms of whether she truly sees the trip out,” said trainer Appleby.

“She has strengthened over the winter and dropping back to sprinting could be her gig, looking at her pedigree. She goes into this in great shape, and it will open a few doors if she handles the drop in distance.”

The inaugural Mawj Stakes sponsored by Emaar attracted a field of 10, with Spanish filly Octans (Spa) (The Grey Gatsby {Ire}) a headliner based on her four-for-six record at La Zarzuela.

“She is a lovely filly, she's done everything right from the start,” said trainer Guillermo Arizkorreta, who was featured earlier this year in the TDN. “She was the best 2-year-old filly in Spain, but she's hard to assess against other fillies. I suppose Godolphin's [Mountain Breeze (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire})] and Barberot's [Lhakpa (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr})] will be hard to beat.

The Jumeirah Guineas Trial sponsored by Emaar sees Godolphin's GI Summer Stakes second Al Qudra (Ire) (No Nay never) return.

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