Certify faces familiar foes at Balanchine Stakes

Peter Ward 09:49 20/02/2014
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  • Certified winner... Can any of the field compete with Certify?

    The Group 2 Balanchine Stakes, a 1,800m turf contest restricted to fillies and mares, is the highlight of this evening’s (Thursday) seventh meeting of the 2014 Dubai World Cup Carnival and Certify, unbeaten in five career starts to date, will surely be hard to beat.

    The Godolphin filly, trained by Charlie Appleby, won all four juvenile starts in 2012, highlighted by the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile before becoming one of Godolphin’s horses who missed all in 2013 after testing positive for a prohibited substance.

    She made her comeback three weeks ago, oozing class as she won the Group 2 Cape Verdi Stakes, also for fillies and mares but over 1,600m, with jockey Mickael Barzalona clearly believing he had the race in the bag at halfway. She has to carry a penalty for that win but Appleby still sounds confident.

    He said: “She has always been a very classy filly and a bit special.

    “It was a shame we could not run her last season, but it is great I have been allowed to keep her in training and she was showing plenty of her old ability before her comeback.

    “It is always a relief when they transfer their home effort back onto the track and she really did. She has improved a lot since as well, physically and mentally as she had been off a long while. The penalty makes it harder but the extra 200m should not be an issue. We have to be very hopeful.”

    Three of the five she beat three weeks ago are in opposition again, including runner-up L’Amour De Ma Vie, but it could be another French rider, dual Group 1 winner Flotilla, who rates the biggest danger despite a lacklustre local debut behind Certify in the Cape Verdi.

    Winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf in 2012, she also won last year’s French 1000 Guineas for trainer Mikel Delzangles. Of the pair who did not run in the Cape Verdi, Moment In Time, representing David Simcock and the UK, looks to hold the best claims ro make a challenge after her career-best third in the Group 1 EP Taylor Stakes when last seen in October.

    The main support race, also on turf, is the inaugural running of the Listed Dubai Millennium Stakes, over 2,000m and for which 13 runners have been declared.

    The Mike De Kock-trained Mujaarib made a winning local debut three weeks ago, winning the Group 2 Al Rashidiya over 1,800m, again on the grass track. He will be ridden by Paul Hanagan, riding for his main employer Sheikh Hamdan, and the jockey said: “I was suspended when he won last time when he surprised us all. We really thought he would need that run so it was a very pleasing effort.

    “He has a penalty this week as aresult of that win, but he should be competitive.”

    France’s Dastarhon and Godolphin’s Tasaday both caught the eye in the Al Rashidiya and are therefore also to be considered.

    German raider Empoli, who refused to enter the stalls for his intended local debut last week, looks a threat with Adrie De Vries riding for trainer Peter Schiergen.

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