By Bob Nastanovich
Responding generously to jockey Christophe Lemaire's urging, Stay Foolish (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) outfinished the formerly unbeaten Godolphin-owned Manobo (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) to seize the $1-million G2 Dubai Gold Cup. Rating kindly for Lemaire behind a pedestrian pace, Stay Foolish finished strongly to wear down Manobo from his inside. Winning by a half-length, Stay Foolish covered the Gold Cup's 3200 meters in 3:19.64 on Meydan's good turf course.
Manobo, who had won his previous five races with relative ease including the G3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy here on Feb. 18, did himself no favors throughout the contest by frequently throwing his head and pulling strongly on jockey William Buick's arms. Still, after Buick shifted Manobo out to make his run turning for home, he rallied to hit the front late but the advantage was short-lived as Stay Foolish unsurprisingly found more.
Third place finisher Al Madhar (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), an overlooked local hope, was two lengths further behind Manobo.
Stay Foolish, a 7-year-old in the form of his life after winning the G3 Longines Red Sea Handicap on Feb. 26, improved further for Lemaire and his trainer Yoshito Yahagi.
An exhilarated Yahagi said, “After Saudi, he enjoyed the atmosphere in Dubai. He loves Dubai I think! I did not give any orders to the jockey. Christophe Lemaire knows what to do.” Yahagi claimed that the G1 Gold Cup during the Royal Ascot meeting was his dream target for Stay Foolish.
Pedigree Notes
Bred in Japan, Stay Foolish is a Shadai Farm homebred by Stay Gold, a multiple Group 1 winner who famously defeated Fantastic Light (Rahy) by a nose in the 2001 G2 Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba. His dam Kauai Lane (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) won five of her 18 starts in her native country and all seven of her foals to race are winners although none of those are in the same class as Stay Foolish.
Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
DUBAI GOLD CUP SPONSORED BY AL TAYER MOTORS-G2, $1,000,000, Meydan, 3-26, 3yo/up, 16fT, 3:19.64, gd.
1–STAY FOOLISH (JPN), 127, h, 7, by Stay Gold (Jpn)
1st Dam: Kauai Lane (Jpn) (SW & GSP-Jpn, $908,075),
by King Kamehameha (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Silver Lane, by Silver Hawk
3rd Dam: Strait Lane, by Chieftain
O-Shadai Race Horse Co Ltd; B-Shadai Farm (JPN); T-Yoshito
Yahagi; J-Christophe-Patrice Lemaire. $580,000. Lifetime
Record: GSW & G1SP-Jpn, GSW-Sau, 31-4-5-7, $4,921,647.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*.
2–Manobo (Ire), 121, g, 4, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Tasaday, by
Nayef. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. $200,000.
3–Al Madhar (Fr), 127, g, 5, Siyouni (Fr)–Phiz (Ger), by Galileo
(Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (200,000gns
Ylg '18 TATOCT; 32,000gns HRA '21 TATAUG). O-Tawfik A Saeid
Ali; B-Robin Geffen (FR); T-Musabbeh Al Mheiri. $100,000.
Margins: HF, 2, 3/4.
Also Ran: Alignak (GB), Passion and Glory (Ire), Volcanic Sky (GB), Veloce Oro (Jpn), Castlebar (Ire), Rodrigo Diaz (GB), East Asia (Ire), Mirinaque (Arg), Baron Samedi (GB). Also Ran (DNF): Emperor of the Sun (Ire).
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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