Benbatl Back with a Bang in the Joel

[Wandering Eyes]

   Making his debut in 2019, TDN Rising Star Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) turned Friday’s G2 Shadwell Joel S. into a procession at Newmarket with an all-the-way five-length success that proved the day’s true head-turner. Sent forward by Oisin Murphy from the break, the 4-1 second favourite showed no rustiness and skipped clear of fellow TDN Rising Star and 6-5 favourite King of Comedy (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) heading down into the “dip” before maintaining the momentum up the rising ground. King of Comedy, who missed the break and was free in the race, had 1 1/4 lengths to spare over Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) in a sound trial for the Oct. 19 G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. “It is a super training performance by Saeed and that was a brilliant performance,” Murphy said. “He can go a mile or ten–he has loads of class and there is a reasonable period between now and Champions Day. I hadn’t slept much this week with the excitement and he hasn’t had a slap in the race. He was electric.”

Despite being trained in this town for the most part of the year, this was only the second time that Benbatl had raced at his local track, with the first being the 2017 G3 Craven S. when he was third as a still-raw talent. Despite winning that season’s G3 Hampton Court S. at Royal Ascot, it was only when the homebred went to Dubai that he began to flourish last winter with wins in the G3 Singspiel S., G2 Al Rashidiya and G1 Dubai Turf. Disappointing when 10th as favourite for the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot last June, he bounced back to take the 10-furlong G1 Grosser Dallmayr Preis at Munich in July before finishing fifth in the G1 Juddmonte International at York in August. Sent on his travels again, he annexed the Caulfield’s G1 Ladbrokes S. again over a mile and a quarter in October before running Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) to two lengths in the G1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley two weeks later.

Saeed bin Suroor is keeping his options open. “Benbatl had been working really well and he showed his class in his final piece of work before this race,” he explained. “We gave him a break after Australia, because last year was a hard season for him and he ran in many races. I talked to Sheikh Mohammed and we decided to wait until the autumn, so we gave Benbatl time and didn’t push him in the summer. He needed the race today and, luckily, he won well. I will speak with Sheikh Mohammed next week and he could head to [Oct. 19] Champions Day at Ascot for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes or the Champion Stakes, or he may head back out to Germany. More likely, we will take him back to Dubai and run him in the big races there again.”

Benbatl is the first foal out of Nahrain (GB) (Selkirk), who captured the GI Flower Bowl Invitational and G1 Prix de l’Opera and was second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Her dam Bahr (GB) (Generous {Ire}) took the G2 Ribblesdale S. and G3 Musidora S. and was placed in the G1 Epsom and Irish Oaks and the Flower Bowl. Nahrain’s 3-year-old gelding Montzar (GB) (Dansili {GB}) has yet to race, while she also has a 2-year-old full-sister to Benbatl named Fooraat (Ire) and a yearling filly by Sea The Stars (Ire). Her 2019 foal is a fully again by Dubawi.
Friday, Newmarket, Britain
SHADWELL JOEL S.-G2, £100,000, Newmarket, 9-27, 3yo/up, 8fT, 1:35.60, gd.
1–BENBATL (GB), 130, h, 5, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Nahrain (GB) (Hwt. 3yo Filly-Eng at 9.5-11f, G1SW-Fr, GISW-US, SW-Eng & GSP-Ire, $1,041,961), by Selkirk
2nd Dam: Bahr (GB), by Generous (Ire)
3rd Dam: Lady of the Sea, by Mill Reef
O-Godolphin; B-Darley (GB); T-Saeed bin Suroor; J-Oisin Murphy. £56,710. Lifetime Record: Hwt. Older Horse-Eng & UAE at 7-9.5f, Hwt. Older Horse-Ger at 9.5-11f, G1SW-Aus, Ger & UAE, 17-8-3-1, $5,295,731. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–King of Comedy (Ire), 126, c, 3, Kingman (GB)–Stage Presence (Ire), by Selkirk. O/B-Lady Bamford (IRE); T-John Gosden. £21,500.
3–Zaaki (GB), 130, g, 4, Leroidesanimaux (Brz)–Kesara (GB), by Sadler’s Wells. (40,000gns Ylg ’16 TAOCT). O-Ahmad Alotaibi; B-Kirsten Rausing (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute. £10,760.
Margins: 5, 1 1/4, NK. Odds: 4.00, 1.20, 8.00.
Also Ran: UAE Jewel (GB), Happy Power (Ire), Anna Nerium (GB). Scratched: Pogo (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton

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