There is a saying in racing circles that you are always looking for a Group horse in a handicap. It means that to win in a race of handicap quality, you often need a horse of a significantly higher class that has had its true ability masked through a lack of runs by a trainer.
Step forward Brendan Brackan, an Irish raider who takes his chance for trainer Ger Lyons in the first round of the Al Maktoum Challenge, Thursday night’s feature race on the opening night of the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan Racecourse.
In July, Brendan Brackan strode clear of a talented field of handicappers by eight-and-a-half lengths in the Topaz Mile in Galway, Ireland. Coming off a strong early pace, Brendan Brackan surged to the front and ground down his 17 rivals under Colin Keane.
He then showed he was still progressing when he was good enough to win a Group 3 race at the Curragh in September and last ran in a Listed race in October.
His work at Lyons’s base before arriving in the UAE on Sunday morning has been pleasing, and the trainer hopes that Thursday night’s Group 2 event will be a stepping stone towards a tilt at the Zabeel Mile and World Cup night itself.
“I don’t think we have seen many handicaps won in Ireland with such authority in many years,” Lyons said. “He was a real Group 2 horse in a handicap and he will be the top-rated horse in the race.
“We run off the plane all of the time, and if he runs like he has been working he will be involved at the finish.”
Brendan Brackan’s tactical versatility will be useful as there is likely to be a fast pace in the early stages of the 1,600-metre event as Christophe Soumillon rides Mike De Kock’s Daddy Long Legs, who habitually likes to be up with the pace.
The Belgian rider will have to fight it out with James Doyle on Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa’s Capital Attraction for the lead, which means Keane will have to sit in behind unless he wants to get involved in a war of attrition up front.
A fast pace could well play into the hands of Barbecue Eddie, Meydan’s favourite son who is defending his title for trainer Doug Watson and jockey Dane O’Neill.
Longines sponsor the seven-race card, and O’Neill will need one of their elegant timepieces to negotiate the fractions to perfection from Barbecue Eddie’s customary position at the rear in what will be the evergreen 10 year old’s 23rd start at the UAE’s leading track.
“He is in great form at home,” Watson said. “He is now 10 and owes us nothing, but we hope he will run a big race, despite the widest draw.”
Godolphin will be represented by Charlie Appleby’s Steeler, who returns for his first start since October 2012, while Saeed Bin Suroor, who has won the race seven times, will saddle Shuruq, the only filly in the 10-runner line-up.
De Kock, whose horses are still behind in their training regime because of quarantine complications, also runs Rerouted, while the field is completed by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid’s Mufarhh, Sultan Ali’s Samurai Sword and Empire Storm, the British raider.
sports@thenational.ae
