THERE can be no better way to earn your first success at graded stakes level than to land a Grade 1, and this happened last weekend to the British-bred Almanaar. The Shadwell Stud owned and bred son of Dubawi won the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap by three-quarters of length, his fifth career victory. In so doing he became the 27th winner at Group or Grade 1 level for Dubawi who will command a fee of £250,000 this year at Dalham Hall Stud, were you lucky enough to get a mare accepted to visit him. Dubawi’s impressive list of Group 1 winning sons also includes Erupt, Postponed, New Bay and Makfi.

Almanaar is a five-year-old gelding out of the Bahhare mare Baqah, herself winner of the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham and the Listed Prix d’Angerville when trained by Freddy Head. Her placed efforts included a third-place finish in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes. She is the dam of seven foals of racing age, three of which have run and won. Her eighth is a yearling colt by Exceed And Excel.