2000 Guineas report: Less than 24 hours after Dubawi restored his reputation with a scintillating success in Saturday's Boylesports Irish 2,000 Guineas came the news that nobody but everybody was expecting: the Godolphin star will try to break Frankie Dettori's Epsom Derby hoodoo in 12 days time.
That was always going to be the case after a sparkling defeat of Oratorio that had Sheikh Mohammed and Co grinning the grins of the vindicated and dreaming of a return to the path of greatness.
"We have always known he is a champion but he is also flesh and blood and we didn't see the real Dubawi at Newmarket," said the Sheikh while Dettori was even more dogmatic: "Great horses make it look easy and he is a great horse." Thus it was no surprise when Simon Crisford confirmed yesterday that Dubawi will now try and succeed where his famous father, Dubai Millenium, failed and win at Epsom.
"He has come out of the race extremely well and we have been given the green light for Epsom," said the Godolphin spokesman. "We are hopeful he will have every chance of staying, but we won't know until he tries. We certainly won't try and find out beforehand." Crisford added: "We are confident that a mile and quarter is well within his range, but the extra quarter mile is a different ball game. Dubai Millenium didn't stay in the Derby, but there is some stamina on the dam's side.
"He won't run again on fast ground, whatever the race, but we hope it will be nice ground at Epsom. He has got a real turbo-charged burst of speed which will hold him in good stead." That turbo was on full throttle on Saturday but the bare facts of a two-length defeat of the other 7 to 4 joint favourite Oratorio doesn't tell the full story, particularly with Epsom in mind.
Yet again Dubawi jinked dramatically to his right and, after racing up the centre to the two-furlong pole, he ended up on the far rail. Then as he passed the line he darted back to his left. Maybe it's still greenness, but even taking his undoubted talent into account, it's a habit that he could do without around the trickiest Classic course in the world.
Dettori's explanation that Dubawi didn't know where to go and so he made up his mind for him by going to the rail begs a pretty obvious question: why didn't he make his mind up to go straight? In behind Oratorio never travelled throughout and all he did to the line was stay on. That was encouraging as regards staying further than a mile and Epsom also remains a possible target for him.
Significantly, however, Aidan O'Brien commented: "He is in at Epsom but he is also in the French Derby." The O'Brien-Fallon team did make their mark on the Group Two Ridgewood Pearl Stakes when Airwave made her first start at a mile a winning one.
"There are many more of these Group 1 races for older fillies now and the aim will be to win one of them," said O'Brien of the former Cheveley Park winner.
The former jump jockey Harry Rogers saddled his first Group winner when the 20 to 1 Moon Unit pounced on the favourite Moss Vale by three-parts of a length in the Weatherbys Greenlands Stakes.
Royal Ascot at York is an option for Moon Unit now and also for Waterways who made all to win the Listed Marble Hill Stakes. Winning trainer Patrick Prendergast was emulating his father, Paddy, and his grandfather, also Paddy, who won it twice in the 1970s.
Before racing on Saturday Frankie Dettori was fined €100 and ordered to pay a minimum €500 to the Jockeys Accident Fund by the Turf Club's Appeals and Referrals Committee. Dettori had failed to show for a jockeys challenge race at the Curragh.
