Meydan notes: Sharp Azteca has his edge back for Godolphin Mile
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Once again, America’s speedy Sharp Azteca appears so tough that it will take a super-performance –or a super-weird set of circumstances as with last year– to beat him in the $1 million Godolphin Mile (G2). This year, the son of Freud appropriately appears a more psychologically sound prospect, having learned to rate beautifully and pounce on his prey with an explosive turn-of-foot. The nearly black charge, trained by Jorge Navarro, enters off a disappointing off-the-board finish in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) in late January.
“He’s ready for the race and he was ready for the Pegasus (World Cup Invitational),” Navarro said. “He was one of the horses that I took over (to the race last time) and absolutely everything was right, but then everything in the race just turned the other way and he never had a chance to show who he is. He’s a great horse. Whether he can go that far, I’m not sure, but that race did not tell us.
“(Jockey) Irad Ortiz (Jr.) worked him the other day and said he was ready,” Navarro said. “He galloped out in 1:10. We will just turn the page with him. He didn’t have any luck (in the Pegasus) and we will hope for the best at Meydan.”
The prohibitive favorite in last year’s Godolphin Mile, he was entangled in a grueling speed duel while going wide on the far turn under young rider Edgard Zayas. He gave way begrudgingly in the final strides to Second Summer and Ross, finishing third.
“Last year was heartbreaking,” Navarro said. “We took a young jockey, and nothing against, him, but he wasn’t quite ready and made a bad decision, but we leave with that and turn the page, like I said. We can get it this year. When you go into these big races, going out of the country and across the world, you have to respect who you’re running against. Hopefully it plays out well for us.”
Other Godolphin Mile possibles: Heavy Metal, Ross, Kimbear, Boynton, Classic Emperor
TAKAFUL TAKES STAGE IN DUBAI GOLDEN SHAHEEN
Kiaran McLaughlin is well-versed in what it takes to do well in Dubai, having trained here for many years. The former D. Wayne Lukas assistant-turned-multiple Grade 1 winner in his own right is coming back with a serious chance of winning one of the country’s biggest races, the $2 million
Dubai Golden Shaheen with Shadwell Stables’
Takaful.
“We’re looking at it strongly,” McLaughlin said. “He’s always been a little difficult to train, so we are just making sure he’s 110% and looking seriously at coming with him. He just ran a very good race where he was hooked every step of the way and went 22 and 45 and the track wasn’t that fast that day. It was a hard race and he carried top weight, so he got a lot out of the race. He’s doing well, so hopefully that all goes well the next two weeks.
“You have to have the right horse to come to Dubai,” he continued. “We think he is the right horse. He has a great mind. He’s not in need of medications, and that’s important, and he does everything right. Nothing bothers him, really, it’s just that he can get very keen when he goes to the track to train.”
In his 2018 bow, the dark bay 4-year-old son of Bernardini finished third – pipped at the line for second – in the Toboggan Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct in New York. The 1400m race saw him set the pace from the inside, while under constant pressure, and then run hard to the wire. In 2017, he capped his season with a subpar 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Del Mar, but had won the Vosburgh (G1) one race prior at Belmont Park and finished second in the H. Allen Jerkens (G1) five weeks prior to that.
The Shadwell homebred is part of what is arguably the strongest assemblage of American sprinters in the history of the Dubai Golden Shaheen. If the race holds together, it feasibly could be one of the best sprint races anywhere in years.
Other Dubai Golden Shaheen possibles: Roy H, Mind Your Biscuits, X Y Jet, D B Pin, My Catch, Comicas, Reynaldothewizard, Raven’s Corner, Muarrab
UAE DERBY: THE OAKS COULD PROVE KEY
Thursday’s $250,000 UAE Oaks (G3) could have as much to say about the $2 million UAE Derby (G2) as any race, thanks to the burgeoning talents of its main two players, Winter Lightning and Rayya. After a thrilling battle in the UAE 1000 Guineas Trial over 1400m in January, the upstarts returned for another fine showing in the 1600m UAE 1000 Guineas (Listed), which again resulted in the former winning. On Thursday, the two get a UAE Derby course and distance stamina test in the Oaks, which has racing analysts guessing as to whether the outcome could be more of the same or a reversal of fortunes.
Other UAE Derby possibles: Mendelssohn, Gold Town, Seahenge, Threeandfourpence, Yulong Warrior, Last Voyage
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