Meydan Stars Gear Up for BIG Global Weekend
Ruling Court, Raging Torrent, Choisya and Soul Rush (pictured) are just four of the Meydan Racecourse winners going for Group 1 glory on a huge weekend of international racing.
In the UK, the two-day Derby Festival gets underway on at Epsom on Friday, with the Coronation Cup the first of two Group 1 races on the card. Three Meydan graduates take their chance, headed by the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic runner-up Calandagan, who looks for his first G1 success for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard.
Another familiar name in the line-up is the Marco Bott-trained Giavellotto, who has run at three Dubai World Cup meetings, finishing fifth in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic on his latest attempt, while Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous joins the fray after a disappointing run in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup.
“I thought he ran well in Dubai, even though I was too far back,” said Oisin Murphy, who rides Giavellotto. “I really like his chances as I think that track will suit him, although I hope we don’t get too much rain.”
Epsom stages the highly prestigious G1 Derby, in which Ruling Court will attempt to become the first 2000 Guineas winner to follow up in this race since Camelot in 2012. The Charlie Appleby-trained colt burst onto the scene with an emphatic win in the Listed Jumeirah 2000 Guineas at Meydan in March and held off some smart rivals when winning the Newmarket equivalent last month. He must step up 400metres in trip from Newmarket, but Appleby believes he is now a more mature individual.
“Ruling Court was a different horse at Newmarket with his temperament around the paddock compared to when he ran in the UAE [Jumeirah] Guineas,” he said. “I believe that when you’ve got good horses like that, sometimes they haven’t really got to stay a true mile and a half. At Epsom you’ve got to be able to travel.”
Over in America, Saratoga stages the Belmont Stakes Festival. Choisya, winner of the G2 Cape Verdi and Balanchine for the Simon and Ed Crisford team, goes for her second G1 in the Just A Game Stakes, having won the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April.
