Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3

Hypothetical (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) showed improvement throughout last year's carnival to finish second in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 and fourth in the G1 Dubai World Cup, and the 5-year-old continued his ascent on Saturday with a win in the latest renewal of Round 3 to become the 13th Group 1 winner for his first, and Lope De Vega's first top-level winner on the dirt. Breaking prominently from his wide gate, Hypothetical was driven forward by Mickael Barzalona and put his head in front as they...

The unusual trend of ex-British-trained turf horses upping their game when encountering dirt continued on Saturday when Matterhorn (Ire) (Raven's Pass) proved a dominant winner of the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3. The former Mark Johnston- trained 5-year-old had previously shown adaptability on different synthetic surfaces in Britain and he put that adaptability to good use to put up a career best, beating the favourite Military Law (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) by an impressive 5 1/2 lengths. Mickael Barzalona had an armchair ride on the Salem Bin Ghadayer-trained entire and, after...

Meydan's 'Super Saturday' card on Mar. 7 is set to be staged against the backdrop of an empty grandstand, with the Emirates Racing Authority taking precautionary measures against the coronavirus outbreak. Nonetheless, race fans and pundits will have the chance to take in from afar performances from some key protagonists aiming toward the Dubai World Cup card on Mar. 28 during the evening's seven tailored prep races. The G1 Jebel Hatta, one of two Group 1s on the card, looks to be at the mercy of Godolphin but, with the...