BENBATLThe turf feature, the upgraded 1800m Group 2 Singspiel Stakes presented by Longines Master Collection, provided an easy victory for Benbatl, winner of the race in 2018 and the first dual winner of the contest. Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, he only faced four rivals after the defection of last year’s winner and stable companion Dream Castle. Sent straight to the front by Christophe Soumillon, the 6-year-old Dubawi horse never looked in any trouble with his ears pricked before Soumillon gave him his cue and the pair dashed clear to win easily by 4¾ lengths.
“He went to the front really easily,” Soumillon said. “I was quite surprised to see someone chasing me turning (into the stretch) because the pace was quite good; wasn’t too slow. I was like, ‘what’s going on here,’ but then my horse had a good blow. He really dominated the race. It was a good run for him. He always runs good fresh, but it’s nice to build on this and get him as fit as possible for the big race. To be honest, it wasn’t the best lesson for a horse to have him in the front as the big favourite, you take some risks, but today was like a morning gallop on his own. Next time, if he has a chance to get cover, it’ll be better for him. Today he was the best horse in the field and probably Dubai at the moment.”
Bin Suroor added: “He ran really well. I’m happy with him. He showed plenty of speed and was travelling really good. It didn’t matter about the ground. The way he finished his race made me really happy. He was around 90% (fit). There could be options (for him).”
Comments are closed