The UAE Oaks (Group 3)
February 27, 2013
All nine fillies are reopposing each other having met here three weeks ago in the UAE 1000 Guineas. Over the mile Lovely Pass came out on top over Shuruq and Music Chart producing a 1, 2, 3 for Godolphin with the red cap beating the white cap with the blue cap in third. You could say strictly in terms of how the jockeys dressed this was an upset and on dress code the placings were expected to have reversed.
The race was run at a pedestrian pace for the first half turning into a sprint off the bend to the line where a number of them were either caught for toe or were pulled wide as the field fanned out across the track. In all a messy affair which if repeated, as it now is over a furlong further is far from guaranteed to produce the same result.
Music Chart did the most of the travelling coming widest and latest of all and in a truer run race offers the best chance of reversing the form.
Favourite on the day was the Mike De Kock trained Emotif who was having only her second run having come with something of a reputation from South Africa where she won on her juvenile start. In retrospect she did well to finish fifth and the step up in trip and with the run under her belt she is back in the equation.
The form in behind didn’t look great and with the exception of My Special J’S there isn’t much to recommend. My Special’S did produce G2 winning form last year when springing a surprise in the Debutant Stakes at the Curragh over a Aga Khan owned 2/5 shot but then failed to carry that form when stepped up to G1 company on two more juvenile runs or in either of her two efforts here at the Carnival.
Recommendation : Music Chart 3/1 win
