By Alan Carasso
Dismissed at rough odds with a sea of blue for Godolphin signed on for Saturday's $350,000 G1 Jebel Hatta Sponsored by emirates.com, defending champion Alfareeq (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) raced prominently throughout and–unlike many of his chief rivals–enjoyed a clean passage, then ran down pacesetting El Drama (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) to cause the upset and win by a neck.
The 6-year-old hit the ground running and was forwardly placed and out of trouble through the early stages. When El Drama crossed all the way down to the inside from his high draw, Dane O'Neill seized upon the opportunity, asked Alfareeq to follow the move and the duo chased from second. Positions remained largely unchanged for the run around the turn, and El Drama still held the call as the Jebel Hatta field hit the straight. Asked to kick by David Egan, El Drama responded gamely and clung to a narrow advantage with time ticking away, but O'Neill was able to conjure up one final effort from Alfareeq, who dove across the line narrowly best following a final 400 metres in :23.01.
“[El Drama] took a bit of passing but my lad is nothing if not tough,” said O'Neill, enjoying one of his best seasons to date in the UAE. “He's been second on every start this season and he deserved that, but he dug deep for it.”
Of the beaten brigade, Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), sent off the international favourite from barrier two, raced in a significant amount of traffic and in the slipstream of the comebacking and headstrong Real World (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) down the backstretch, was steered to the outside once produced in upper stretch by William Buick and rattled home to be a very good third. Real World was one-paced through the final 200 metres, while the commonly owned Valiant Prince (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) did him no favours by pulling fiercely beneath James Doyle after First Winter (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) bore out into him nearing midway. Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a latest winner of the H H The Amir Trophy in Qatar two weeks ago, lingered at the back of the field and also attacked the line to be in a photo for fifth in what was meant as a prep for the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic on Mar. 25.
Seventh to the dead-heating Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in last year's G1 Dubai Turf–the final race of a five-race prep–Alfareeq resumed with a runner-up effort in listed company over a mile at Abu Dhabi
Dec. 4 and filled the same spot behind Saturday's impressive Ras Al Khor conditions winner Al Suhail (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the 1400-metre G2 Al Fahidi Fort Jan. 6. The gray was most recently outbobbed by Valiant Prince in the course-and-distance
G2 Singspiel S. Feb. 3.
Pedigree Notes
Alfareeq is out of a winning daughter of Listed Poker Star S. heroine Sudoor, the dam of the late G3 Prix Noailles winner Raseed (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Third dam Wissal was a full-sister to Bahhare and a half-sister to Bahri and was herself responsible for the listed-winning and Group 3-placed Mudaaraah (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}).
Urjuwaan is also the dam of a yearling Ribchester (Ire) filly that fetched €28,000 at last year's Goffs November Sale.
Saturday, Meydan, Middle East
JEBEL HATTA (SPONSORED BY EMIRATES.COM)-G1, $350,000, Meydan, 3-4, NH4yo/up & SH3yo/up, 1800mT, 1:48.19, gd.
1–ALFAREEQ (IRE), 126, g, 6, by Dark Angel (Ire)
1st Dam: Urjuwaan (GB), by Cape Cross (Ire)
2nd Dam: Sudoor (GB), by Fantastic Light
3rd Dam: Wissal, by Woodman
O-Shadwell; B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd (IRE);
T-Musabbeh Al Mheiri; J-Dane O'Neill. $210,000. Lifetime
Record: SP-Fr, 22-5-6-3, $685,234. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–El Drama (Ire), 126, h, 5, Lope De Vega (Ire)–Victoire Finale
(GB), by Peintre Celebre. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK-TYPE.
(425,000gns ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al
Maktoum; B-Farm Cove Thoroughbreds (IRE); T-Roger Varian.
$70,000.
3–Master Of The Seas (Ire), 126, g, 5, Dubawi (Ire)–Firth Of
Lorne (Ire), by Danehill. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie
Appleby. $35,000.
Margins: NK, NK, 1 3/4.
Also Ran: Erzindjan (Ire), Russian Emperor (Ire), Valiant Prince (Ire), Shelir (Ire), Aegean Finale, I Am Superman (Ire), Real World (Ire), Aeonian (Ire), Maydanny (Ire), First Winter (Ire), Hawa Bilady. Scratched: Land Of Legends (Ire). VIDEO.
🔵⚪️ Alfareeq records successive victories in the Jebel Hatta Sponsored by https://t.co/CdxgMtk2bY for Dane O'Neill & Musabbeh Al Mheiri
A fine effort from the six-year-old to land the G1 contest once again
🏆 2022
🏆 2023#DWC23 | #RacingDubai | @emirates pic.twitter.com/al30IDoZx8— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) March 4, 2023
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