2025 News
American Stage runnerup in ‘Super Saturday’ Dubai trialBuoyed by their sweep of four races at Riyadh, Japan-trained horses continued their onslaught on the Middle East as they moved from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates for “Super Saturday” at Dubai’s left-handed Meydan Racecourse on March 1. Two Japanese horses -- T O Saint Denis and American Stage -- took part in two of the eight races on the Saturday card open to Thoroughbreds, largely trials keenly watched worldwide for glimpses into the talent ahead of Dubai World Cup Day. # # # Both Grade 3 events, first up was the third race of the day, the Burj Nahaar (named after a tower on Dubai’s old city walls), open to 4 year olds and up and run over 1,600 meters on dirt. The Ritto-based, Japan-bred T O Saint Denis, a 6-year-old by Kitasan Black was no match for the competition and finished only one off the rear in the 15-horse field. Taking honors was the France-bred-and-based Fort Payne, sired by Rio de la Plata and trained by Nicolas Caullery. In second place by a little more than a length was the Argentina-bred Oasis Boy, a 4-year-old Asiatic Boy colt fielded by local trainer Doug Watson. Winning time over the fast track was 1 minute 36.89 seconds. All runners carried 57 kg. T O Saint Denis made a brave effort, gaining the front despite a less-than-perfect break and holding his position amid heated competition for the first 600 meters. With a kilometer left, however, the 6-year-old lost his hold on the front, quickly slipped to the rear, and crossed the line with only one runner behind him. The poor result by the Daisuke Takayanagi-trained T O Saint Denis did raise concerns but rider Oisin Murphy cited the horse’s inability to race unchallenged from his favored front-of-the-field position as the main factor for the bleak finishing order. A post-race veterinary exam found nothing amiss. The Tomoya Ozasa-owned T O Saint Denis, with two wins and six seconds from 26 starts, has a best second place in Grade 2 company and was racing for the first time since his ninth place in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile early last November at Del Mar. # # # Faring much better on the day was the Yoshito Yahagi-trained American Stage, a 3-year-old colt by the American sire Into Mischief. The U.S-bred American Stage, who has yet to finish out of the money in his six starts thus far, headed in to the 1,200-meter dirt Mahab Al Shimaal (the No. 8 race of the day) on a three-race winning streak, with his most recent win in the open-class Chukyo Nisai Stakes (1,200 meters), his only race on turf to date. Breaking well from the far-outside No. 12 gate at Meydan, American Stage chased the leaders throughout and, despite looking strong at the top of the straight and carrying 4.5 kg less than the rest of the field, he was no match for the eventual winner and race favorite Tuz, trained locally by Bhupat Seemar and ridden by Tadhg O’Shea. American Stage trailed the 8-year-old Oxbow-sired U.S.-born gelding by more than 5 lengths in second place. Last year on March 30, Tuz topped the field of 14 in the Grade 1 Golden Shaheen (1,200 meters, dirt) by 6 1/2 lengths. His winning time in Saturday’s race was 1 minute 10.22 seconds over fast ground. Interestingly, 2024 Dubai World Cup champion Laurel River, who shares his sire with American Stage, was also trained by Seemar, who became the first local trainer to win the race when Laurel River beat Japan’s runnerup Ushba Tesoro in the day’s headliner by 8 1/2 lengths. Click here for the official results: Burj Nahaar, Mahab Al Shimaal Please visit the following websites for more information.
|
|
