By Tom Frary
While it is entirely excusable that everybody's favourite subject on Saturday was City Of Troy (Justify), there was a notable subplot to Newmarket's Future Champions Day with the town's triple threat of Godolphin, Charlie Appleby and Dubawi (Ire) doubling up in the fixture's next-best prizes. After the stable's Ancient Wisdom (Fr) had registered an impressive success in the G3 Autumn S., Arabian Crown (Fr) followed suit with his own masterclass in the manner of his sire's Ghaiyyath (Ire) whose name graced the 10-furlong G3 Zetland S.
Last seen capturing Salisbury's Listed Stonehenge S. at a mile in August, the €600,000 Arqana August-bought son of Dubai Rose (GB) (Dubai Destination) was the sharpest away of the quartet with another of Ballydoyle's Justifys in Gaspar De Lemos (Ire) keeping him company for the first six furlongs. Always travelling better than that rival, the 10-11 favourite powered away from three out to win, eased down by William Buick, by 5 1/2 lengths.
“It was a big weekend for us in respects that the three horses we were confident about were the filly Dance Sequence yesterday and the two today and they have all gone and won impressively,” Appleby said of his third straight winner of this Derby pointer. “This horse, as it stands, on what he has achieved and on his pedigree has more of a Derby profile. We will be going down more of that route and he could be a Dante horse or one for one of the other Derby trials.”
“He is a very hard horse to assess, as he is not a work horse and we have always said that,” Appleby said. “James [Doyle] rode him in work last week and he was out at the back of the gallop, whereas Ancient Wisdom does travel and he has a bit more natural pace. To be fair, this horse picked up and quickened. I will put him away now for the year He has a pedigree that suggests stepping up to the mile and a half as a three-year-old will suit him. He is an exciting horse–there is no doubt about it.”
Smooth as you like
€600,000 purchase Arabian Crown slams his rivals with a dazzling performance in the G3 Ghaiyyath Zetland Stakes to give team @godolphin a double at HQ @NewmarketRace pic.twitter.com/cKJ6oKHSP3
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 14, 2023
Pedigree Notes
Arabian Crown's aforementioned dam Dubai Rose, who captured the Listed Kolner Stuten-Trophy as well as the Swiss Derby over a mile and a half, is also responsible for the dual G2 Prix de Royallieu winner and G1 Prix Vermeille third The Juliet Rose (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), Dubawi's listed-winning Everest Rose (GB) and the dual listed-placed Pocketfullofdreams (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). She is kin to the G2 Pretty Polly S. winner Hanami (GB) (Hernando {Fr}), whose progeny include the G2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial and G3 Ballysax S.-placed Regent Street (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
Among Dubai Rose's other half-siblings is another German listed scorer in Hernando's Soho Rose (Ire), who produced last year's G1 Prix de Royallieu heroine Sea La Rosa (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and her G2 Great Voltigeur S. and G3 Bahrain Trophy-winning full-brother Deauville Legend (Ire), as well as the group 3-placed Dean Street Doll (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}). Her yearling colt by Night Of Thunder (Ire) managed to outdo his half-brother when making €660,000 at this year's Deauville August Sale, with Blandford Bloodstock the winning bidders.
Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
GHAIYYATH ZETLAND S.-G3, £60,000, Newmarket, 10-14, 2yo, 10fT, 2:05.93, sf.
1–ARABIAN CROWN (FR), 130, c, 2, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Dubai Rose (GB) (SW-Ger), by Dubai Destination
2nd Dam: Russian Rose (Ire), by Soviet Lad
3rd Dam: Thornbeam, by Beldale Flutter
1ST GROUP WIN. (€600,000 Ylg '22 ARAUG). O-Godolphin; B-GB Partnership (FR); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £34,026. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-1, $79,442. *1/2 to The Juliet Rose (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), MGSW & G1SP-Fr, $554,634; Everest Rose (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), SW-Ger; and Pocketfullofdreams (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), SP-Eng & Ire. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Gasper De Lemos (Ire), 130, c, 2, Justify–Hence (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. £12,900.
3–Dallas Star (Fr), 130, c, 2, Cloth Of Stars (Ire)–Agathe Rare (Ire), by Sadler's Wells. 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€30,000 Wlg '21 ARQDEC; 50,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT; 180,000gns RNA 2yo '23 TATBRE). O-Amo Racing Ltd; B-Mme Eliane Dieuaide & SAS Domaine Billard Pere Et Fils (FR); T-Dominic Ffrench Davis. £6,456.
Margins: 5HF, 3HF, 22. Odds: 0.91, 2.20, 33.00.
Also Ran: Dambuster (GB). Scratched: Meribella (GB).
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