Tag Archive for: Saeed bin Suroor

Bin Suroor and Murphy thrilled to be back at the top table

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Saeed bin Suroor and Oisin Murphy were thrust back into the spotlight, with Mawj emerging triumphant in an epic renewal of the Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

While neither is any stranger to big-race success, for differing reasons victories at the top table have been harder to come by in recent times.

Murphy was champion jockey for three seasons on the trot between 2019 and 2021, but last year was a troubling one for the rider as alcohol and Covid breaches led to him serving a 14-month suspension imposed by the British Horseracing Authority.

But having made his comeback in mid-February, a man of Murphy’s talents was never going to be left sitting in the weighing room when the top prizes are up for grabs and the 27-year-old proved why with a masterful ride aboard Mawj, for a first success in the Rowley Mile Classic having won the 2000 Guineas with Kameko in 2020.

Saeed bin Suroor back in the big time
Saeed bin Suroor back in the big time (David Davies for The Jockey Club)

“All the Group Ones are important and it’s a relief as well. The Guineas are such important races,” he said afterwards.

“I was on a long losing run here at Newmarket. I had four full racedays with no winner here and lots of chances and I couldn’t get on the scoresheet, but Teumessias Fox won yesterday and Running Lion was so impressive earlier, so I went out on Mawj full of confidence.”

On securing a Classic winner so soon after his return, Murphy added: “It’s beyond my wildest dreams. I had a really good start back thanks to lots of different trainers supporting me. Just to get back in the big races with a crowd here, it’s a great feeling.

“All the Group One winners mean a lot, even my first winner back meant a lot. I just realise, particularly as I’ve got older, these top-class horses are super hard to find.

“There were 20 horses in the race today who thought they had a chance of winning the 1000 Guineas and there’s only one winner, so you’ve got to savour the moment when you can get those victories.”

Oisin Murphy celebrates Mawj's success
Oisin Murphy celebrates Mawj’s success (David Davies/The Jockey Club)

Bin Suroor has saddled close to 200 Group One winners around the world during his long and illustrious training career, with names such as Dubai Millennium, Daylami, Sakhee, Swain and Lammtarra adoring his CV. But it had been 14 years since Mastery provided him with the most recent of his 12 previous Classic triumphs in the 2009 St Leger.

The hugely popular trainer has had to watch on as his fellow Godolphin handler Charlie Appleby has become the sport’s dominant force, and Bin Suroor was delighted to show that when given the ammunition he can still get the job done.

He said: ““I think this my 195th Group One winner around the world.

“It means a lot as it has been a long time since we won a Classic race in England. It means a lot to myself, Godolphin and the sport also. It has taken us a long time to win another 1000 Guineas.

“Charlie and myself are a good team. He worked for me for a long time and he has become one of the best trainers now. We are good friends.

“When we started we had very good horses in those days but recently things have been slow with the quality of horses but luckily when I saw this filly start to work, despite her being tiny, she showed her class.

“We ran her in Group races last year and she managed to win one in England then we stepped her up to a mile in Dubai and she won the Jumeirah Fillies Guineas well.

“We talked to Sheikh Mohammed and he let her run in the Guineas today and Oisin gave her a good ride. She has a big heart and I thought she was going to win when they were close.

“I thought she would do well as her last two pieces of work here in Newmarket were brilliant.

“It is a great boost for the stable and everybody at the yard will be really happy.”

Mawj digs deep to land epic Guineas for Bin Suroor and Murphy

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Mawj gained a scintillating success in the Qipco 1000 Guineas, getting the better of favourite Tahiyra after an epic duel up the Rowley Mile at Newmarket.

Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, the Exceed And Excel filly showed guts aplenty under a superb ride from Oisin Murphy to score by half a length.

The 9-1 winner had to do the hard work on the near side as the 20-strong field split into two groups – and it always looked like being a two-horse battle from the dip.

Tahiyra fell out of the stalls, but made silky-smooth headway under Chris Hayes and the Dermot Weld-trained filly looked the most likely winner a furlong out.

However, on her first start of the season, the Moyglare winner – sent off the 6-4 market leader – just lost out to the battle-hardened Mawj, who had twice won in Meydan over the winter.

The pair were seven and a half lengths clear of Kieran Cotter’s Matilda Picotte, who had helped the set the pace on the far-side group and stuck to her guns gallantly. Caernarfon was fourth at 50-1 for Jack Channonn.

It was a welcome return to the big-race winner’s enclosure for Bin Suroor and his third success in the race following Cape Verdi (1998) and Kazzia (2002), while it was Murphy’s second Classic after Kameko’s 2000 Guineas win in 2020.

Bin Suroor said: “I think this is Group One number 195 around the world.

“The filly was doing well before the race. If you saw her last year she was really tough and strong. She is a tiny filly, but she has a big heart. She is a Group Two winner here and unbeaten in Dubai.

“I spoke to Sheikh Mohammed before we ran her in Dubai over a mile. We tried her over a mile and she did well out in Dubai. I talked to Sheikh Mohammed before we declared her and it was a great decision from him, and the filly won well – we’re happy with her.

“Me and Charlie (Appleby) are a good team and he was with me for a long time before becoming the best trainer now. We’re good friends and have the best horses in the country, maybe even the world in our stables. We will sometimes have luck like with Mawj today, she’s a nice filly.

“We will keep options open and see how she comes out of the race. She’s entered in French Guineas but that is probably too close to this race, but she is also in the Irish Guineas so we will take to Sheikh Mohammed and will make a decision after a week.”

Former champion Murphy – who this season has returned to the saddle following a 14-month riding ban – said: “The sun is beating down, there are lots of people here and she walked round like she was half asleep. When I got on her back I started to believe it could happen.

All smiles from winning connections
All smiles from winning connections (Nigel French/PA)

“I was worried there wasn’t a lot of pace in the race and I rode her a bit like Frankie (Dettori) rode Chaldean yesterday – I set my own fractions on the wing with no cover. 

“It really was a very good training performance, she hasn’t run in nearly three months and I got a huge buzz out of that. These are such important races.”

Mawj in good form ahead of 1000 Guineas challenge

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Mawj will take her chance in the Qipco 1000 Guineas on Sunday week after showing Saeed bin Suroor all the right signs since returning from Dubai.

The Exceed And Excel filly, who won the Group Two Duchess of Cambridge on Newmarket’s July course in mid-summer, was last seen in Britain finishing a close-up third to Lezoo in the Cheveley Park on the Rowley Mile course in September.

While she tackled six furlongs exclusively in her two-year-old career on these shores, she was upped in trip with success when shipped to Dubai over the winter.

Mawj duly won the seven-furlong Jumeirah Fillies Classic and then scooted to an eight-and-a-half-length success in the Jumeirah Fillies Guineas on her first try over a mile.

Though not the biggest, she has proven herself to be all heart in winning four of her seven career starts, and she is as short as 12-1 for the mile fillies’ Classic.

Bin Suroor said: “She is good, has been working well and in good form. She will run in the Guineas.

“She is a nice filly and a proven filly. She has shown plenty of speed, but she stayed a mile well in Dubai and now we will give her a chance in the Guineas.

“It is a very tough race, but we have to give her a chance and see how she goes, as she has earned that chance.

“She has grown a little, but not much. That is why we gave her a break between races. Two-year-olds, when you give them a break, they generally grow and strengthen.”

Classic tilt next target with Mawj following impressive Meydan success

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Mawj will be aimed at either the English or French 1000 Guineas after a highly successful spell in Dubai.

The Saeed bin Suroor-trained filly had a fruitful two-year-old season, winning on debut and then finishing second to current 1000 Guineas favourite Meditate in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot.

A victorious step up to Group Two level followed in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket’s July course, after which she was fourth in the Lowther and third in the Cheveley Park.

Over the winter the bay headed out to Dubai, making her first start at Meydan when stepping up to seven furlongs in the Jumeirah Fillies Classic in late January.

That run resulted in a short-head victory over Dream Of Love, also Godolphin owned, making Mawj the 11-10 joint-favourite when she returned to the track for the Jumeirah Fillies Guineas the following month.

Again she was the winner, routing a field of eight rivals to prevail by an unchallenged eight and a half lengths over an extended trip of a mile.

Bin Suroor said: “She ran really well. She won over six furlongs in England and she came back here over seven furlongs, the way she worked in the morning I thought she could stay the mile.

“It was worth a try and she was really impressive, she won it easily.

“She’s a tiny filly but she has plenty of speed, she’s by Exceed And Excel.”

There are now two clear next steps for the three-year-old, with Bin Suroor planning on sending her to Newmarket in May or for the French version, the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, at ParisLongchamp during the same month.

“There are options to run her in the French or the English Guineas, one of those will be the next target with her,” he said.

“The way she’s done it, she’s definitely improved, she did it so well. She’s grown a little bit out in Dubai and she’s a better filly now.

“To run her in the Guineas is a bigger step, but we will have a chance.”

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.”

Naval powers into Classic picture with Meydan victory

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Naval Power led home a Charlie Appleby one-two-three in the Jumeirah Classic as he kicked off his three-year-old campaign at Meydan.

The Moulton Paddocks handler dominated the top of the market in the nine-furlong Listed event and it was the Mickael Barzalona-ridden One Nation who set the fractions and looked at one stage to have slipped the field before he was hunted down by the 1-2 favourite close home.

Highbank picked up the bronze medal to complete a clean sweep of the podium for owners Godolphin and the Newmarket trainer, who was winning the race for the fifth time in six years.

The victory was the perfect way for Naval Power to get back on track following a disappointing showing in the Dewhurst in his final start at two.

“It’s quite testing conditions out there tonight, so you’re never quite sure how it will go – especially with these three-year-olds,” said winning rider William Buick.

“But it was a competitive race and the second and third set a good standard, so I was really pleased with him there. I do think he is better on slightly better ground as well.”

The Teofilo colt will now head back home where he will take in a 2000 Guineas trial before a possible tilt at the opening classic of the season – for which he was cut to 16-1 from 25s with Coral.

Buick gave his nod of approval to both the plan and the horse’s Classic credentials post race.

Betfair Sprint Cup Day – Haydock Park – Saturday September 3rd
William Buick after winning the Betfair Daily Tips on betting.betfair Ascendant Stakes with horse Naval Power at Haydock Park racecourse. Picture date: Saturday September 3, 2022.

He added: “It’s a tested and proven route and he’s definitely of that calibre.”

Saeed bin Suroor’s Mawj (9-4) just held on in an all-Godolphin finish to the Jumeirah Fillies Classic.

The Duchess of Cambridge Stakes winner, who was last seen finishing third in the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes, was always to the fore in her first attempt at seven furlongs and showed real toughness to hold off 8-11 favourite Dream Of Love – who having been anchored at the back of the field rounding the home bend, flew up the Meydan straight to be denied by just short head.

The winner will now be upped to a mile for her next start in the Jumeirah Fillies Guineas on February 24.

“She ran well,” said Bin Suroor. “It was a first start for her on softer ground and there was a question mark before she ran, but we gave her the chance.

“I said to the jockey ‘just keep her handy if you can’ and next time we will have to go up to a mile for the Jumeirah Guineas. So far she has done well and she will improve from this race.

“She’s a good filly but she’s tiny, like I said last year. Since she has come to Dubai she has grown a little bit, but she still needs time. She started over six furlongs, now she has won over seven and next we will try a mile and we will see. She is a nice filly, a tough filly and she always tries hard.”

There was a rare winner in Dubai for Gordon Elliott when Coachello (20-1) struck in the Listed Dubai Stakes over six furlongs, while in the evening’s feature race on the dirt, former Roger Varian inmate Prince Eiji scooped Group Three honours for Doug Watson and rider Sam Hitchcott in the Firebreak Stakes.

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.”

Dubai Future bidding to book Sheema Classic ticket at Meydan

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Saeed bin Suroor fields the first two home from the Bahrain Trophy in Friday’s Group Two Al Rashidiya at Meydan, as Dubai Future faces Passion And Glory once more.

The pair dominated the valuable event at Sakhir in November, with Dubai Future and Danny Tudhope coming out on top by three-quarters of a length.

Tudhope maintains the partnership with the seven-year-old, who has a possible tilt at the Sheema Classic on World Cup night on his agenda.

“He hasn’t had a run for two months but he’s been back in full training a while now, he’s working well and I’m happy with him,” said Bin Suroor.

“The Bahrain Trophy was obviously a good result and this is the best race for him before World Cup night.

“We will see how he runs here before deciding where he ends up. He’s a tough horse, a fighter, and we’ll just have to see how he runs before the World Cup meeting.

“Passion And Glory has also been training well since Dubai and I expect him to run well as well.”

Charlie Appleby’s four-year-old Ottoman Fleet, an easy Listed winner at Newmarket when last seen, looks the one to beat.

Bin Suroor is also hopeful of good runs from Soft Whisper and White Moonlight in the Ipi Tombe Stakes.

Soft Whisper winning under Frankie Dettori at the Cambridgeshire meeting in 2021
Soft Whisper winning under Frankie Dettori at the Cambridgeshire meeting in 2021 (Mike Egerton/PA)

Soft Whisper has won four times at Listed level, while White Moonlight has yet to recapture the promise she showed at two, although Bin Suroor does sees it on a morning at home.

“Soft Whisper is working well and likes it in Dubai, I’m really happy with her, she worked really well last week. She’s in the right race over the right trip (seven furlongs), so we’ll see how she goes,” he said.

“White Moonlight had three years off but she still shows me something on a morning, the problem is she is unsound.

“Every time she got close to a run she’d get another problem. I’ve given her lots of time, but I know she still has class. She’s better than she showed last time. What I see on the morning is very good.

“We just thought we’d give her a chance out here in Dubai before deciding on her future.”

Appleby again looks the man to beat, this time with Wild Beauty, not seen since finishing fifth of six behind Above The Curve in the Prix Saint-Alary at ParisLongchamp.