Scandinavian success on the opening night at Meydan

In the third race of the day Master Bloom was racing up there with the pace and when the attackers came it was Suspicious Mind and Per-Anders Gråberg who was one of the first ones to make a move. Master Bloom soon faded, but don’t look at the mere result here. Suspicious Mind looked dangerous for a while, but he might have gone for it a tad bit too soon. The winner, Dubai Future, was waiting and waiting and showed a fantastic turn of foot and was not to be beaten this day. Suspicious Mind picked up a nice cheque and showed that Swedish Racing is right up there and can be competitive.

In the next, the best three-year old in Scandinavia, Hotline Bling, went to the front and kept it into the straight. Manuel Martinez drifted from the rail giving Sovereign Prince and William Buick an easy passage to the winner’s enclosure. Hotline Bling kept fighting on and held on to finish fourth.

The Group 2 Cape Verdi was a fantastic race for the Scandinavian horses. The field was packed coming into the straight and you could see a frustrated Silent Night not getting enough room to show her speed. On the outside, Ascot Brass came fastest of them all and the victory was already counted for and almost in the books when Pevensey Bay came with a crazy fast last 200 and stole the win from Ascot Brass. Close but no cigar some might say, but we hope that Niels Petersen will enjoy a good cigar after this effort. And don’t forget about Silent Night next time out.

New import El Guanche was quick out of the stalls in the Dubai Dash and was soon contesting the lead in the middle of the track. It was a little bit too quick of a pace and even though he faded in the later parts of the race we will still give him a “B” for effort.