TRYSTER transferred his form on synthetic surfaces to turf at Meydan on Thursday and put up a great show to land the upgraded Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes in style. The five-year-old Herbertstown House Stud-bred son of Shamardal now looks set for a clash with another top-class gelding, Solow, on Dubai World Cup night.

Unbeaten in six starts away from turf surfaces, this was his first win on grass since he landed his maiden at Brighton in July 2014. Sporting the Godolphin colours to a fourth successive win in the race, Tryster impressed his trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick.

“The slow pace did not really suit us,” said Buick. “He tends to miss the break and has done so again but travels so strongly he can make up ground easily. He quickens so well which is always a potent weapon and hopefully the Dubai Turf on Dubai World Cup night will be the race for him. You’d have to be impressed by his turn of foot. We have seen it before on Polytrack but it is nice to see it on turf.”

Trainer, Appleby added: “On the performance he put up this evening he is going to be bang there [for Group 1 races]. The competition on Dubai World Cup night is going to be much stiffer. He is a big confidence horse so that would have done him the world of good. It puts to bed all of those question marks and hopefully we can look forward to a nice summer ahead, as well.”

Tryster now has the option to run in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta on Super Saturday [March 5th] and/or go straight to the Dubai Turf on March 26th.

Godolphin was back in the winner’s enclosure after the last race on the card, the one-mile Jaguar XF Handicap on the turf, this time courtesy of Saeed Bin Suroor who saddled the first two home. The winner Carry On Deryck, with David Probert in the saddle, led home a Godolphin 1-2-3-4 in the contest. The winner is a son of the recently deceased Halling.

maftool

Hamdan Al Maktoum won the purebred Arabian race on the card, the traditional opener, and followed up with Dane O’Neill in the saddle aboard Maftool in the mile Range Rover Sport Handicap on dirt. The American-bred son of Hard Spun was making his first start for Musabah Al Muhairi, having won last year’s UAE 2000 Guineas for Godolphin. Second since in both the UAE Derby and Group 2 Bosphorus Cup in Turkey on his final run for Godolphin, he was gelded over the winter. The Godolphin Mile could be his Dubai World Cup day target.

Winner of last year’s five-furlong Group 3 Meydan Sprint on turf, the Ian Williams-trained Sir Maximilian, bred in Ireland by Tom Brennan’s Holborn Trust Co, won for the first time since when capturing the Jaguar F-Type Handicap over the same course and distance. The seven-year-old Royal Applause gelding was ridden for the first time by Pat Dobbs and drawn on the outside of the 14 runners.

The winning rider is enjoying a great season, especially at Meydan, and 35 minutes later completed a double, partnering the Doug Watson-trained Faulkner to success in the nine and a half furlong Land Rover Discovery Sport Handicap on dirt. The winner is a Darley-bred son of Pivotal.

“Faulkner is a real favourite in the yard,” said Watson. “It is a great result for the whole team as he has had a few niggling problems. We will miss Super Saturday and perhaps look at the Godolphin Mile.”

There was a truly international flavour to the seven-furlong Range Rover Handicap on turf. The race went to Bahrain with Mickael Barzalona on the Ali Jan-trained Fils Anges, providing the trainer with his first ever Dubai World Cup Carnival winner. The winner, a six-year-old by Dark Angel, was bred in Ireland by Yeomanstown Stud and was chased home by horses trained in Dubai, by Mike de Kock in South Africa and Brendan Powell in Lambourn.