The top 3-year-old in Dubai thus far this season has surely been Phoenix Ladies Syndicate’s Walking Thunder, who successfully shifted course from skipping the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial to racing in said 1600m event and winning it emphatically last Thursday. The nine-length victor, trained by Ahmad bin Harmash, has exited said run in fine order and is preparing to stay the course in the $250,000 UAE 2000 Guineas (G3) on Feb. 7.
“He came out very well,” Bin Harmash said. “He trained today and he looks so fresh. That’s one of the reasons we decided to run him back in the Trial instead of going straight to the Guineas. From now, he’ll go on to the Guineas and then the ($2.5 million) UAE Derby (on Mar. 30).”
While Bin Harmash did not have any immediate plans for the same ownership’s ultra-impressive Jebel Ali graduate Golden Jaguar, he did say that fellow orange-silked banner-mate Superior would point toward longer races.
“We will keep Walking Thunder and Superior separated until the UAE Derby (on Mar. 30),” he said.“Superior will go to the ($100,000) Al Bastakiya Trial (on Jan. 24 over 1900m). We don’t need to run them together. They’re two good horses. We will run them until they both qualify for the UAE Derby and thenthey can face each other.”