By Kelsey Riley
The G2 Al Rashidiya S. at Meydan on Thursday came down to a pair of Godolphin Group 1 winners in the final furlong, and it was the returning G1 St James's Palace S. winner Barney Roy (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}) who collared and passed the defending race winner and last year's G1 Jebel Hatta S. winner Dream Castle (GB) (Frankel {GB}) inside the final eighth to score by two lengths, leading home a Godolphin top four finish.
Barney Roy was making his fourth start back from a failed stud career due to fertility issues, and his first appearance since finishing eighth in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot last June. Gelded in late 2018, Barney Roy joined the stable of Charlie Appleby, having previously been trained by Richard Hannon, and was second on return in Ascot's Listed Paradise S. in May before taking ParisLongchamp's Listed Prix de Montretout three weeks later.
It was the French Group 2 winner Loxley (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) in the Godolphin black cap who bounced out of the gates on Thursday to lead the field of seven through the opening stages, with listed winner Mountain Hunter (Lonhro {Aus}) stalking and Dream Castle leading Barney Roy, each separated by not much more than a length. Those margins diminished approaching the quarter pole as the quartet bunched up with Barney Roy and Dream Castle soon separating themselves. They engaged in a brief battle before Barney Roy took control on the outside and drew clear from his rival with relative ease. It was the second time that pair has finished one-two, with Barney Roy having also beat home Dream Castle in the G3 Greenham S. three years ago on his second start. Barney Roy would go on to finish second to Churchill (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 2000 Guineas and also picked up placings behind Ulysses (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Coral-Eclipse and G1 Juddmonte International before the season was out.
“He came in here with a bit to work on,” said Appleby. “He's a very lightly framed horse, so we don't do much with him. He was fresh in the paddock and for the first half of the race, but once he got into it, I was always hopeful that his class would prevail and that is what we've seen at the end. That will hopefully take the freshness out of him now and hopefully we can work backward from the Jebel Hatta [on Mar. 7]. All being well, it's one step at a time. We'll get Super Saturday out of the way and hopefully we can book ourselves a slot for Dubai World Cup night.
Appleby wasn't ruling out Europe's middle-distance highlights for later in the season.
“Visually, from what we've seen there, you'd be quite happy to step up to 10 furlongs. He was just touched off in the [2017] Juddmonte [International] and is a class animal. It's just nice to see him back to his winning ways this evening.”
Pedigree Notes
Barney Roy is the first foal out of the unplaced Galileo (Ire) mare Alina (Ire), also the dam of the listed-placed Wisdom Mind (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). The second dam, Cheyenne Star (Ire) (Mujahid), won the G3 Ridgewood Pearl S. and G3 Brownstown Stud S., and it is also the family of the top-class evergreen sprinter Gordon Lord Byron (Ire) (Byron {GB}).
Eliza Park International purchased Alina for 65,000gns at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 2013 carrying Barney Roy. He was let go for 30,000gns as a foal and pinhooked as a yearling for £70,000, and Eliza Park has since enjoyed a couple excellent sales of the mare's produce. David Redvers purchased the mare's 2016 Kodiac (GB) filly for 400,000gns, and last year her Dubawi (Ire) colt topped Tattersalls October Book 1 when bought by Godolphin for 3.6-million gns. Alina also has a 3-year-old colt by Free Eagle (Ire) named Thames River (GB) who was retained by Eliza Park and was a winner last year for Joseph O'Brien.
Thursday, Meydan, Dubai
AL RASHIDIYA SPONSORED BY HAMDAN BIN MOHAMMED CRUISE TERMINAL-G2, $250,000, Meydan, 1-30, 3yo/up, 9fT, 1:47.41, gd.
1–BARNEY ROY (GB), 126, g, 6, by Excelebration (Ire)
1st Dam: Alina (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Cheyenne Star (Ire), by Mujahid
3rd Dam: Charita (Ire), by Lycius
(30,000gns Wlg '14 TATFOA; £70,000 Ylg '15 DNPRM).
O-Godolphin; B-Eliza Park International Pty Ltd (GB); T-Charlie
Appleby; J-William Buick. $150,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-
Eng, SW-Fr, 11-5-3-1, $943,503. *1/2 to Wisdom Mind (Ire)
(Dark Angel {Ire}), SP-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Dream Castle (GB), 126, g, 6, Frankel (GB)">Frankel (GB)–Sand Vixen (GB),
by Dubawi (Ire). O-Godolphin; B-Darley (GB); T-Saeed bin
Suroor. $50,000.
3–Mountain Hunter, g, 6, Lonhro (Aus)–Tamarillo (GB), by
Daylami (Ire). O-Godolphin; B-Darley (KY); T-Saeed bin Suroor.
$25,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 6 1/4, 3.
Also Ran: Loxley (Ire), Majestic Mambo (SAf), Sharpalo (Fr), Light The Lights (SAf).
Click for the Racing Post result. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
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