A fascinating early season clash of some of the world's best middle-distance turf horses saw a wonderful training performance from John Gosden to produce Jack Hobbs (GB) (Halling) in peak form to run out a ready winner of Saturday's G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic. The strapping colt deserves extra credit as he ran quite free in William Buick's hands for much of the early stages as Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), racing well off the inside, adopted his customary front-running role that has served him so well in the past. He was never able to break away from the field, however, as Andrea Atzeni was keen to keep tabs on the leader on the race favourite Postponed (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). As the field turned for home Highland Reel began to backpedal and Postponed came under a strong drive as Jack Hobbs powered on and nothing was going to trouble the 5-year-old as he won pushed out by three lengths with Seventh Heaven (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) emerging from the pack to chase him down. Postponed was disappointing in third, just about managing to turnaround the G2 Dubai City Of Gold form with Prize Money (GB) (Authorized {Ire}) who finished fourth.
Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
LONGINES DUBAI SHEEMA CLASSIC-G1, $6,000,000, MEY, 3-25, NH4yo/up & SH3yo/up, 2410mT, 2:32.39, yl.
1–JACK HOBBS (GB), 126, h, 5, by Halling
1st Dam: Swain's Gold, by Swain (Ire)
2nd Dam: Golden Pond (Ire), by Don't Forget Me (Ire)
3rd Dam: Golden Bloom (Ire), by Main Reef (GB)
(60,000gns yrl '13 TAOOCT) O-Godolphin & Partners;
B-Minster Stud (GB); T-John Gosden; J-William Buick.
$3,600,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Ire, GSW & MG1SP-Eng,
10-5-2-2, $5,432,825. *1/2 to Niceofyoutotellme (GB)
(Hernando {Fr}), GSP-Eng, $143,420. Werk Nick Rating: C+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”blandford-bloodstock-purchased-by-2″][bullet ad=”delahooke-shell”]2–Seventh Heaven (Ire), 120, f, 4, Galileo (Ire)–La Traviata, by
Johannesburg. O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael
Tabor; B-La Traviata Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien.
€1,200,000.
3–Postponed (Ire), 126, h, 6, Dubawi (Ire)–Ever Rigg (GB), by
Dubai Destination. (360,000gns yrl '12 TAOOCT) O-Sheikh
Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; B-St Albans Bloodstock Llp
(IRE); T-Roger Varian. €600,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1 3/4, HF.
Also Ran: Prize Money (GB), Earnshaw, Sounds of Earth (Jpn), Highland Reel (Ire).
Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
“We had a quiet year last year but his form from Ascot was rock solid. William, as he did with Dar Re Mi, didn't go straight away. He waited, waited, waited. He's been so long off from racing but I just needed him to focus,” Gosden said as he welcomed back the winner who is owned in partnership by his wife Rachel Hood and Godolphin. Gosden continued, “This is great. It's a family horse with all the children here and all of Rachel's great friends over here too. It's a dream come true.”
Having broken his maiden very late in his juvenile year at Wolverhampton in December of 2014, Jack Hobbs announced himself as a G1 Derby contender in the spring of 2015 when runner up to then stablemate and subsequent Epsom hero Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in the G2 Dante S. at York. He then finished runner-up at Epsom before making amends in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh later that month. He came through an easy Group 3 trial at Kempton in September after a mid-season break before finishing third to Fascinating Rock (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the G1 QIPCO Champion S. Last year was a bit of a writeoff for Jack Hobbs as a pelvic injury suffered at Newmarket in April kept him off the track until another solid third-place finish, this time behind Almanzor (Fr) (Wotton Bassett {GB}), in the G1 Champion S. again at Ascot. With his problems seemingly behind him the winner clearly relished the underfoot ease and looks set to take a high rank in the major middle-distance contests throughout the season.
Pedigree Notes…
Jack Hobbs was bred by Willie Carson's Minster Stud out of the three-time winner Swain's Gold (Ire) (Swain {Ire}) who has also bred the GSP Niceofyoutotellme (GB) (Hernando {Fr}) among four winners in total from five produce to race. Golden Pond (Ire) (Don't Forget Me {Ire}), the granddam of Jack Hobbs was a high-class runner herself, scoring seven times including in the GII Orchid H. She also bequeathed a degree of her racing ability to her stakes-winning daughter Brazilian (Stravinsky), who in turn foaled the stakes winner La Malaguena (English Channel).
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