MGSW Switzerland (Speightstown) caused an upset in the G3 Dubawi S. at Meydan on Thursday, the first group race on the opening card of the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
Breaking in the air, the new gelding soon recovered and punched the breeze out six deep in the rush to the bend. Waady (Ire) (Approve {Ire}) led while glued to the fence under pressure from favoured Gladiator King (Curlin) and Good Effort (Ire) (Shamardal). Those three were soon tackled by Switzerland out in the middle of the track with a quarter mile remaining. Good Effort threw in the towel at the 300-metre pole, and Switzerland surged up to even terms with Waady at the rail and Gladiator King in between them. Switzerland stuck his neck in front with less than a furlong remaining and continued to assert, as Gladiator King faltered to third. The winning margin was 1 1/4 lengths, with Waady an equal margin in front of Gladiator King. Good Effort plugged on to be fourth.
The $500,000 FTIMAY juvenile broke his maiden as a 4-year-old in 2018 at Aqueduct and captured both the GIII Maryland Sprint S. and GIII Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash S. before the end of the year. Formerly a Woodford Racing runner, he made his Meydan debut in the colours of Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi in January of 2019 in the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint, but ran sixth. Runner-up in a handicap locally that February, he was off the board in two more 2019 efforts, as well as twice from two starts in 2020. His latest try prior to Thursday's victory was a ninth in the G3 Mahab Al Shimaal at Meydan on Super Saturday last term and he made his first start for RRR Racing on Thursday.
Pedigree Notes
The third and best foal of his stakes-winning dam who also placed three times at the graded level at Santa Anita, Switzerland's youngest siblings are a 3-year-old filly by Union Rags, a Connect 2-year-old filly and a full-sister born last year. Czechers was bred back to Speightstown last spring. This is also the extended family of GI Travers S. hero Willow Hour (Bold Hour), Grade III winner Cherry Jubilee (Coastal) and the latter's GSW Traverse City (Halo).
Thursday, Meydan, Dubai
DUBAWI S. SPONSORED BY PARK AVENUE BY AZIZI-G3, $130,000, Meydan, 1-21, NH4yo/up & SH 3yo/up, 6f, 1:10.86, fs.
1–SWITZERLAND, 127, g, 7, by Speightstown
1st Dam: Czechers, by Indian Charlie
2nd Dam: Pine Rob, by Pine Bluff
3rd Dam: Cherryrob, by Roberto
($170,000 Wlg '14 KEENOV; $175,000 Ylg '15 KEESEP;
$500,000 2yo '16 EASMAY). O-RRR Racing; B-Branch Family
Trust (KY); T-Satish Seemar; J-Tadhg O'Shea. $78,000. Lifetime
Record: MGSW-US, 22-6-3-4, $567,404. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Waady (Ire), 127, g, 9, Approve (Ire)–Anne Bonney (GB), by
Jade Robbery. (€14,000 RNA Wlg '12 GOFNOV; €37,000 Ylg '13
TIRSEP; 240,000gns 2yo '14 TATBRE). O-Sheikh Hamdan bin
Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Knocklong House Stud (IRE); T-Doug
Watson. $26,000.
3–Gladiator King, h, 5, Curlin–Golden Dawn, by Hennessy.
($65,000 RNA Ylg '17 KEESEP; $195,000 RNA 2yo '18 OBSJUN).
O-RRR Racing; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY);
T-Satish Seemar. $13,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1 1/4, 1 1/4.
Also Ran: Good Effort (Ire), Bochart (GB), Upper Class (Brz), Rodaini, Alkaraama, Leading Spirit (Ire).
Click for the Racing Post chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. ERA Video.
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