THIS is the weekend we’ve been waiting for as our big hope for the Carnival Thunder Snow is in action as he warms up for the $12 million Dubai World Cup at the end of the month.
He’s the one we’re most looking forward to on Super Saturday, but Saeed Bin Suroor runs a lot of good horses and we’re hoping they can follow the lead of Mountain Hunter from last week.
It was brilliant to see him win again for us last week. He’s tough, consistent and goes out there and gives his all every time he runs.
I’m not sure this is the deepest of races and it’s a really good opportunity for this horse. He was a good winner over course and distance last time and I know they’re keen on his chances.
He’s a tough little horse and produced a really good run to win last time in the UAE 2,000 Guineas. I thought he needed headgear and it helped him no end. He’s been bouncing since his last run and I think the visor will do the trick again. Divine Image is the danger, but I’d always take a tough colt over a filly in a race.
He was so good last time and won with any amount in hand – as he was entitled to on the figures. Once again, he’s the class horse in this race and I expect him to romp home.
He should have won last time. They went no gallop and James Doyle stole it from the front on Spotify. He’s tackled Group 1 company and run very well in the past and he’s in great form at the moment at home, so he is. He didn’t have a hard time of things last time and I’d be happy to try and take on Old Persian with him. Old Persian is a very good horse, but I’d side with our fella to get the better of him in this one.
Yes, it’s a prep run for the Dubai World Cup at the end of the month but he’s ready to run for his life in this race. There are three other front runners in the race and that’s going to make it an interesting challenge for his jockey Christophe Soumillon. He doesn’t have to go from the front but when he won the World Cup last year he made all. I think he’d be silly to do it again this time around as Cosmo Charlie is a trailblazer, so I’d tuck in behind and follow him around. I would be very disappointed indeed if he didn’t win this race. I absolutely love the horse and have been riding him every day for most of the winter and I think he’s a better horse than last year.
3.30 Meydan – Dream Castle/Wootton
Dream Castle’s done nothing but improve all winter and they’ve done a great job at getting him so well. He’s a horse we’ve liked for a long time, I thought he’d win the Jersey Stakes in 2017, but he might be up against it in this race. Wootton, who is a horse I put up a couple of weeks ago, is a serious horse. He had no luck on his last start when he got stopped badly twice, and I think if he’d have got out earlier he’d have won three lengths. He didn’t have a hard race as a result and should be spot on for this. We know Wootton is a Group 1 horse but is Dream Castle, or is he a serious Group 2 horse? I’d have to side with the proven horse in those circumstances.
Good luck, Kieren
