Azure Coast steals the show at Dubai World Cup Carnival with UAE 2000 Guineas victory

Lord Glitters successfully defends Group 2 Singspiel Stakes

Azure Coast, ridden by Antonio Fresu, takes the victory in the UAE 2000 Guineas at Meydan. Antonie Robertson / The National

Lord Glitters was a class act in retaining the Group 2 Singspiel Stakes, but the horse that stole the show on Week 5 of the Dubai World Cup Carnival was Russian thunderbolt Azure Coast.

Azure Coast, under Antonio Fresu, produced an electrifying run to come from last to first in the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas at Meydan on Friday.

Slow out of the gates, Fresu settled Azure Coast a long way behind in last. He then appeared to change gears as they approached the final bend before storming past the field to win from Kiefer and Quality Boone by two lengths and a nose respectively.

Azure Coast ran a similar race on his local debut over the 1,400-metre trip, and after stepping up in distance, he won hands down.

“This is a very good horse, I’ve been helping them (connections) a lot in the morning,” Fresu said. “Stupid of me I didn’t chose to ride him last time as I thought seven furlongs was way too short. But last time he showed even over seven that he has lot of ability.

“Today, I took my time I didn’t ask him for too much in the beginning. In the last furlong it was very easy. He will get better over distance.”

It was Azure Coast’s third win in three starts, having arrived in Dubai with a success in Moscow.

“We never raced here and this is one of the best racetracks in the world, so it was always the dream to come and race here,” trainer Pavel Vashchenko said. “We were specifically preparing these two horses (stablemate Suvorov) to campaign them in Dubai.

“It’s a huge honour to win a race like the UAE 2000 Guineas, it’s very special. He’s still a young horse and if he has come out of this race he definitely is in for UAE Derby (on the Dubai World Cup night).”

Lord Glitters produced a vintage run in the Singspiel Stakes, with Daniel Tudhope timing his challenge to perfection to win from the Godolphin pair Royal Fleet and Zakouski.

“It’s quite emotional, especially with this horse,” Tudhope said. “It means a lot to me and the team. He’s just as enthusiastic (as he was), to be honest. We thought that he might need his first run and we were very happy for him. So we knew there was a bit more improvement to come.

“They went a nice even gallop before me. He travelled so nicely into the race and he does that. I knew he was going to finish off well. He’s a real stable star.”

Godolphin won two prizes in the five races they had runners entered in. The Charlie Appleby-trained Global Storm took the second race, a turf handicap, and Saeed bin Suroor’s Storm Damage took the Listed Business Bay Challenge.