‘I expect him to run extremely well’
Begg hoping for big effort from Maharba in Winterbottom as ‘extremely underrated’ Pride Of Dubai seeks another big-race winner
Trainer Grahame Begg believes Maharba (Pride Of Dubai) is ready to strike another blow for his “extremely underrated” sire and upstage more fancied rivals in Saturday’s Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Ascot.
Sat on the fourth line of betting at $9 on Friday for the $1.5 million feature, Maharba steps back up to Group 1 level for the first time as an older horse, while looking to back up his last–start victory in Flemington’s Rising Fast Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m).
Fellow eastern states raider Overpass (Vancouver), seeking to make it four wins from four in Perth, was a $3 favourite despite drawing the outside gate of 16.
His Warwick Farm neighbour, the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald-trained Lady Laguna (Overshare), was at a forgiving $5 as she sets out again to recapture her strong autumn form, after just one third placing amid three runs this prep.
The versatile Western Empire (Iffraaj) – Grant and Alana Williams’s seven-year-old who’s won eight stakes races from 1300 metres to 2400 metres – held second-favouritism at around $3.80, while his fellow local and new sensation Bravo Centurion (National Defense) was at $10 as he pursues a seventh successive win.
Coolmore’s Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry) is flying high atop the Australian general sires’ list, after a career-best finish of fourth in 2023-24, and eighth the year before. His progeny’s $14.2 million in earnings for this season are well clear of second-placed Zoustar’s (Northern Meteor) $10.6 million.
And yet Pride Of Dubai is only ranked equal–eighth by service fee amongst Coolmore’s 13 stallions, at an ostensibly paltry $22,000 (inc GST), down from $27,500 in 2023.
Granted, his earnings this term have been hugely inflated by Bella Nipotina, who claimed a whopping $8.3 million in two starts this spring by winning the $20 million The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) and the $3 million Russell Balding (1300m).
But still, it would stretch historians to find the last stallion to have sat first on the general sires’ list at a fee of $22,000, or thereabouts, this deep into a season.
Plus Pride Of Dubai (pictured below) hasn’t done it with one horse. While he ranks just 21st by winners, he’s equal-second by stakes winners, with six to Snitzel’s (Redoute’s Choice) ten, and equal–third on six stakes wins.
His other black type victors include a second Group 1 heroine in Deny Knowledge and this season’s Feehan Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) winner Pride Of Jenni – who won three times at the top level last term, plus an All Star Mile (1600m), a race since upgraded to the elite grading.
And then there’s Maharba.
The Newhaven Park-bred four-year-old, who had one try at the top tier at two when sixth in Randwick’s Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), has shone so far in this light preparation – under the radar of bookies and punters.
Given a long spell after an autumn capped by victory in Mornington’s Hareeba Stakes (Listed, 1200m), he didn’t resume until October 12 when third at $51 in Caulfield’s Schillaci Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m).
He followed that effort with his last-start 0.1-length win over Rey Magnerio (Magnus) at $17 in the Rising Fast on November 2, who’s since won a Flemington Listed contest and ran second in last Saturday’s $1 million The Meteorite (1200m) at Cranbourne.
“He has to go to another level, but he’s had a good preparation and has got juice left in the tank, with only two runs going into this race, after a good spell over the winter months,” Begg said of Maharba, who has gate six for Jordan Childs.
“It’s worked out well, timing-wise. He doesn’t mind his races being a bit spaced, so we just feel things have fallen into place for him.
“Overpass will have to do a little bit of work. Our horse is better ridden a little cuddled early, and seems to be finishing off his races well ridden that way. He’ll definitely be in the first half, just ridden a bit quieter than some others.
“We’ve changed Maharba’s gear for this prep, gone from a shadow roll to cross-over noseband, and that seems to have made him relax better.
“I expect him to run extremely well.”
Begg said he was stunned by the continuing less-than-fashionable status of Pride Of Dubai, one of three sons of Street Cry (Machiavellian) in the general sires’ list top 15, along with Per Incanto at nine and Street Boss at 15.
Despite the deeds of Pride Of Jenni – and of visiting dual Group 1 winner Dubai Honour in 2023 – the 12-year-old’s yearlings averaged just $48,000 in Australasian sales rings this year, down from $66,000 the year before.
“He’s an underrated stallion – extremely underrated,” Begg told ANZ Bloodstock News. “You just can’t believe how the buying bench gets it wrong so much. They just aren’t prepared to give them the time.
“It’s pretty well documented they take time, when you look at Bella Nipotina and Pride Of Jenni performing as seven-year-olds. They train on, they’re very durable horses, they run over all distances on all types of ground.
“Pride Of Dubai is a very durable stallion, and he’s been kicking lots of goals lately, and his stock are good buying.”
The Winterbottom presents an interesting map, with front-runners Overpass in the widest gate and Bravo Centurion next door. Both are likely to cross the field to occupy the first two two places, with Maharba tucking in behind the leading cluster.
Trainer Bjorn Baker believes reigning Winterbottom champion and dual Quokka (1200m) winner Overpass (pictured below) will be a force in Perth again under regular rider Josh Parr, despite his wide barrier, as he seeks to atone for a last-start failure when eighth up the Flemington straight in the Champions Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m).
“He’s in great order and looks good,” Baker said of Overpass, who arrived in Perth two weeks ago with other eastern horses on a Racing WA chartered flight.
“He’s gone really well in Perth in the past, he’s settled in well again this time, and his work on Tuesday was really good.
“It’s always hard to get super confident for a Group 1, but I think he’s ready to run another good race. If he runs up to what he’s done at Ascot previously, he should be very competitive, and realistically, he’s probably found a good race to be competitive in.
“The outside gate – he’s going to put himself forward so I don’t think it’s as much of a hindrance as it could be. There’s a nice 550-metre run to the first bend. Josh will be able to work it out. He’s the man in the seat. He knows him better than anyone and knows Ascot as well.”
Baker said there were excuses for the last-start Flemington failure of the six-year-old gelding, who’s the highest-rated horse in the field, on 119, with Western Empire and Lady Laguna sharing second rank on 111.
“He was a tad disappointing at Flemington, but he was up against the best and straight track racing is different racing,” he told ANZ. “Maybe he didn’t quite get the breaks he needed, and he wasn’t necessarily on the best part of the track. But he gets back to his tried and proven place on Saturday.”
Bravo Centurion has graduated to black type in his past two successes, both at Ascot, in the R.S. Crawford Stakes (Listed, 1000m) and on his last start in the Prince Of Wales Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) on November 2, scoring in the latter by 3.9 lengths as $1.90 favourite.
He may face a stern test to run out a solid 1200 metres from gate 15 at weight-for-age level, but trainer Luke Fernie believes he is up to the task, after he won his only try up at that distance in a Pinjarra Class 6 five starts back.
“There’s a question mark over whether he’ll handle the 1200 metres at weight-for-age,” Fernie told ANZ. “But in that 1200–metre run at Pinjarra, he actually shied away from the winning post at the end, so the margin should have been bigger.
“I know it was a lot weaker company, but I feel like he was going to run through the 1200 comfortably that day.
“He’s very exciting and he’s very, very good. We’re going to know more on Saturday but my gut feeling is he’s a very, very good chance.
“I’m probably as confident as I have been going into a big race, knowing I’ve got a horse who’s fast, and puts himself on the speed. He can really kick off a strong tempo, which he’s shown in his last couple of starts, so he’s going to be there for a long way.”