Godolphin Mile

(Group 2)

UAE champion trainer Doug Watson kicked Dubai World Cup night off in style when he sent out his second consecutive Godolphin Mile winner, Second Summer following up the victory of One Man Band last year.

“I didn’t quite expect this to happen,” said Watson. “I didn’t know if he could act on this ground. I think everybody was in the same boat. We have never had a sealed track over here. I’m sure he had some training on some sealed tracks in America. He came home so nicely.”

Owned by Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Second Summer had run second in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 on his penultimate start before a lacklustre display in Round 3. Winning jockey Pat Dobbs was pleased with the unusual traffic congestion late in the stretch. “When we turned in he picked up great,” Dobbs said. “I got a nice clear run up the middle. Just as I was going around the American horse [Sharp Azteca] he shifted out on top of me and he kind of lost his momentum a little bit. But I think that helped him a little bit because he just pulls up in front.”

The Peter Schiergen trained, Irish-bred Ross finished second, a neck behind the winner. Jockey Andrea Atzeni was delighted with the result. He said: “The pace was strong. The horse is improving and loves that surface. He’s getting better with each run and ran a great race.”

The winner is a five-year-old son of Summer Bird and sold for $72,000 as a yearling at Keeneland. He has now won north of $900,000.