Tag Archive for: Real World

Real World all set for Jebel Hatta reappearance this weekend

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Saeed Bin Suroor’s Real World will run for the first time since last summer when he lines up in the Jebel Hatta at Meydan on Saturday.

The six-year-old was last seen at Royal Ascot in June, finishing second to Baaeed in the Queen Anne Stakes over a mile.

His prior run was another second-placed performance behind the great Baaeed, a three-and-a-quarter-length defeat in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May.

On Saturday 263 days will have passed since the horse last ran and Bin Suroor expects him to just lack full readiness after the lengthy break from the track.

“This will be his first race since June last year, he had a setback and he was out for long time,” he said.

Real World winning the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot in 2021
Real World winning the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot in 2021 (David Davies/PA)

“We’ve given him a lot of time but he’s back now, in training and working well.

“When he comes back for the race he will be at 80 or 85 per cent, but he will need the race to improve from it.”

The Dubai Turf at Meydan’s Dubai World Cup meeting in late March is a key date in the gelding’s calendar and Bin Suroor is hoping the Group One Jebel Hatta will leave him perfectly prepared for that nine-furlong showpiece.

“That’s the target for him, he will hopefully come on to be just right for that,” he said.

Of the effect of a gelding operation since the bay’s last run the trainer added: “He’s doing very well, he’s more relaxed than before and I hope it will also improve him in the future.”

Real World pencilled in for Super Saturday return

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Real World, not seen since finishing a creditable second to Baaeed in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, has been gelded and is likely to reappear on Super Saturday at Meydan.

Saeed bin Suroor’s flagbearer was suffering with a cough in the second half of last summer and never made it back to the track, having also finished second to Baaeed in the Lockinge at Newbury.

After two failed attempts on dirt in last year’s Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup, that experiment has been put on the back burner and he will race exclusively on turf from now on.

“Real World we know is a very smart horse, but sometimes when he went racing he wasn’t always thinking about it completely,” said Bin Suroor.

“In the mornings at home he was fine, but only when he got to the races did he start to get excited, sweating very badly and was coltish. He still ran well, but we made the decision to geld him in the summer.

“He was coughing a lot in the summer, that was why he hasn’t run since Ascot. It took him a long time to get over it, he had a lot of mucus. We just couldn’t run him.”

He went on: “Hopefully he’s over it now. It was frustrating, we had such a good horse and couldn’t run him. But you can’t run them when they aren’t healthy.

“He’s doing well so far in Dubai, in full training, but I want to find a race for him on Super Saturday, maybe the Jebel Hatta.

“We’ll keep him on the turf this year. We gave him a chance on the dirt but he didn’t handle it well, so that’s it. We’ll keep him to turf.”