Manama Gold has been one of the stars of the Dubai season so far and Fawzi Nass’s filly took her unbeaten record to three with victory in the G3 UAE Oaks [Presented by Longines].
Ridden by Adrie De Vries, the daughter of Star Guitar disputed the pace along the rail and went clear in the straight, but then had to be kept up to her work to see off Mizzyaan, who was closing again at the line.
“I’m very pleased; I have a lot to do with her in the mornings and she’s a very special filly,” said De Vries. “At the moment, I think she’s not at her best – she’s growing a lot – but she has a lot of class.
“I didn’t really have a plan to make [the running]but no-one really wanted it. You can see when she gets in front she pricks her ears. I think she’ll be a better filly next year, but I’ll leave it to Fawzi and [owner]Sheikh Nasser to make a plan.”
Godolphin have a formidable record in the G2 Balanchine [presented by Longines]and collected a tenth win in the 1800metre turf race – but not with the filly most expected.
Charlie Appleby’s Sapphire Seas was favourite but she couldn’t go with stablemate English Rose in the closing stages; Mickael Barzalona’s mount having had the benefit of a prep run in the Cape Verdi. The Frankel filly took her career record to three from four with a comfortable two and a half-length success.
“We went a good gallop and my filly travelled well from the beginning,” said Barzalona after his first win in this race. “It went well for us as the horse to beat was just in front of us. Maybe she was a bit fitter today.”
