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2013 Dubai World Cup Carnival sets stage for UAE Oaks
The best three - year - old thoroughbred fillies will be on display horse racing fans as the $250,000 UAE Oaks (G3) will take over the 2013 Dubai World Cup Carnival on February 28 for what is sure to be an epic spectacle on the 1,900 - meter Tapeta synthetic dirt track at the Meydan Racecourse in the Middle East. Last year, Falls of Lora pulled off a huge comeback in the race, coming from behind to give the Godolphin team its remarkable eight win in 12 appearances in the fillies' classic.
This year, it is definitely looking like Godolphin will once again produce the winner of the UAE Oaks, after Lovely Pass won the UAE 1000 Guineas, leading a furlong out in the 1,600 - meter race on the Tapeta track.
However we are seeing a whole lot of confidence in Lovely Pass, especially from her trainer, Mahmood Al Zarooni.
Mahmood Al Zarooni hopes Lovely Pass can keep this momentum going and let him continue his rise in horse racing's peking order. Al Zarooni's meteoric rise in the sport started in 2010, when he was appointed as a Godolphin trainer - he hasn't forgotten about that face since.
''Becoming a Godolphin trainer is a great honour. I am very thankful to everyone, especially H.H. Sheikh Mohammed, who has given me so much support. I have learnt a lot from His Highness about the welfare and training of horses,'' Godolphin trainer Mahmoud Al Zarooni said. ''He has always been very helpful and is responsible for providing me with this fantastic opportunity.''
As for one of his fantastic fillies in the Dubai World Cup Carnival?
''I am very pleased with Lovely Pass,'' Mahmood Al Zarooni said. ''She is a good filly who won well at Ascot on her final start of last season and it was just a question of whether she would handle the track, which she did.''
Lovely Pass' rider, former camel jockey Ahmad Ajtebi, concurs. ''She is a talented filly undoubtedly but has her own ideas at times,'' jockey Ahmad Ajtebi said. ''When she won on her debut she turned left as the stalls opened and did amazingly well to win. I won on her at Ascot so have now won both races in which I have ridden her.''
Lovely Pass is a filly that seems to have successfully transferred her turf form to synthetic, which is perfect heading to this year's filly classic on the Tapeta synthetic race track after giving team Godolphin a trifecta in the UAE 1000 Guineas. With Mar Mar, another filly from the outstanding Godolphin stable, setting the pace, Lovely Pass settled for a close third before deciding to make her move as she entered the final furlong. From there, Lovely Pass saw another Godolphin filly in Shuruq, getting the race lead from her as Shuruq struggled to keep up.
Shuruq even dropped to as low as fifth in the UAE 1000 Guineas before bouncing back to catch the front runners, though she just couldn't catch up to the new race leader, settling with second place. Music Chart, another Mahmood Al Zarooni - trained filly from, you guessed it, the Godolphin stable, settled for third under Mickael Barazalona, as Lovely Pass proved to be the better of the two Godolphin fillies to win the Guineas and complete the Godolphin trifecta, putting the stable in excellent position to do some heavy damage in the coming 2013 UAE Oaks.
Yes, team Godolphin has some strong fillies for the Dubai World Cup Carnival, so much so that Mahmood Al Zarooni wants more races restricted to female thoroughbreds. The only races restricted to fillies are the UAE 1000 Guineas, the Cape Verdi, the Balanchine, and the $250,000 UAE Oaks (G3) on February 28. ''There has been talk about expanding the programme and I hope that is the case as we need more of these races,'' Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni said. ''That's why we run everything in everything. Otherwise, you have to compete with the colts, which is very hard.''
The Godolphin is a huge monstrous stable housing over 200 horses spread all over the globe and by the looks of things, it looks like they are going for every single victory in the Dubai World Cup Carnival, which makes Lovely Pass and all their entries in the UAE Oaks favourites to win. Every year, team Godolphin makes their selections for the annual festival in the Middle East, making them essentially the reason why we have the Carnival.
Of course, if you want to win big on these races, you have to know which Godolphin horse you should bet on and not just blindly put some money on all the horses that they have. And from where I stand, Lovely Pass looks, well, lovely.
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