Local Time could put herself in the picture for the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket by winning the UAE Oaks impressively at Meydan on Thursday.
The daughter of Invincible Spirit has won her last five races for Trainer Saeed bin Suroor who is looking for an incredible tenth win in the race. Last year he won the UAE 1000 Guineas and Oaks with the smart filly Ihtimal. She was only beaten three-quarters of a length at Newmarket behind Miss France and finished an unlucky fifth in the Oaks at Epsom. Tragically, she met with a fatal accident on the gallops in January.
Hopefully there will be a brighter future for Godolphin’s latest star filly who would need to be supplemented for the Newmarket classic. That is by no means unlikely and she looks impossible to oppose in the Oaks with stable companion Good Place her nearest market rival. James Doyle partners the favourite with William Buick aboard Good Place, an improving daughter of Street Cry who should appreciate the step up in distance.
She has been slowly away in both of her races in Dubai this winter but will have plenty of time to settle in this small field. The only realistic danger to the Godolphin duo is Mike de Kock’s Shahrasal who was third in the UAE 1000 Guineas. It is difficult to see any reason why Local Time cannot confirm the form and I don’t see the extra furlong and a half posing a problem.
There are plenty of familiar names in action on Thursday’s card including Outstrip and Safety Check in the Zabeel Mile. Outstrip has been disappointing since winning the Breeders’ Cup juvenile in 2013, although he did finish within three lengths of Kingman last season. He was slowly away here last month and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the grey fitted with some headgear at some point during the summer.
His stable companion Safety Check was an emphatic winner of a Group 2 here last month but steps up to a mile. Six of his seven wins have been over seven furlongs and he could be vulnerable over this distance. Brendan Powell’s Dark Emerald is on a hat-trick while Johan Strauss, Darwin and Short Squeeze are others with claims in a very competitive event.
Local Time 1000 Guineas Newmarket @40-1 888Sport
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