Saeed Bin Suroor’s charge maintains perfect turf record in G2 Zabeel Mile
With a rating of 118, Real World was officially the best horse on a packed third night of Dubai World Cup Carnival action at Meydan Racecourse.
In winning the Group 2 Zabeel Mile [Presented by Emaar Beachfront] by two and a half lengths, Saeed Bin Suroor’s five-year-old proved that the numbers don’t lie. Now unbeaten in all five starts on turf, the son of Dark Angel was putting behind him four previous defeats at Meydan – all of which came on dirt. Ridden by Danny Tudhope, deputizing for the isolating Frankie Dettori, Real World never really looked like being beaten here, traveling smoothly on the inside and bursting clear from the chasing pack. Alfareeq faired best of the rest, finishing second, ahead of One Ruler.
“He was 90 percent ready today; he works every Thursday and he improves,” said trainer Saeed Bin Suroor after his third Zabeel Mile victory, but first since 2012. “He showed me he’s fit and ready to run. That’s why we ran him in the mile; to get him ready for the races that are coming.”
Bin Suroor wouldn’t be drawn on a firm target for his latest stable star, adding: “We’ll keep our options open for him and look for Group 1 races. He’s entered in Saudi [$20million Saudi Cup], but there’s also Super Saturday and Dubai World Cup night, with options between the turf and dirt.”
