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William Haggas: The inside track on my Dubai World Cup team

By Racing TV

Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023

William Haggas is limbering up for perhaps the most important weekend of his training career, with new arrival Grocer Jack set to represent the yard in the $12m Dubai World Cup and Alenquer and Dubai Honour spearheading a twin challenge at the $6m Longines Sheema Classic.

The Somerville Lodge handler also has Frankel colt Mohaafeth and My Oberon pointed at the $5 million Dubai Turf and Grocer Jack facing a big step up on class in the World Cup itself at Meydan.

And not content with this formidable desert challenge, Haggas will field ante-post favourite Mujtaba in the first big race of the UK Flat season, the SBK Lincoln at Doncaster, also on Saturday. The Dubawi four-year-old was unbeaten in three 2021 starts.

After arriving trackside at Meydan on Wednesday morning, Haggas summed up his hopes for his respective candidates and said: “We’ve always strived to get a better team and I feel we’ve got our best group of horses this week.

“There are always two things that can knock you back which are complacency and disease, but we have some great people here who are all happy with the conditions facing us.

"Everyone seems happy with them and I've got a great team here. I will give the horses a stretch tomorrow (Thursday).”

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Grocer Jack is a new addition to the yard from Germany and the son of Oasis Dream is a 25-1 outsider for the feature Dubai World Cup, but he shaped well on his first start for Haggas when a close-up fourth in a Group Two contest at last month’s Saudi Cup meeting.

Grocer Jack is unraced on the dirt but Haggas, who was second in the race with Mukhadram back in 2014, feels his charge is entitled to take his chance.

He said: “Grocer Jack has hit a very strong race with some professional horses this year. He is rightfully an outsider. He ran well in Saudi Arabia (fifth in the Neom Turf Cup) and the one thing I didn’t think he’d do was break slowly, which he did.

“I’d have loved to been drawn wider on Saturday but we’re in stall four, which means we’re going to have to get out and get into his stride. That will be difficult with all the specialist dirt runners from America and Japan, so it might be tough for him.

“Funnily enough, when he was bought by his connections (Prince Faisal Bin Khaled Bin Abdulaziz) they were keen to stress that offspring of Oasis Dream go very well on the Saudi dirt. This is a bit different but I’m hopeful he will go on the dirt.

“You never know of course, but it’s a real tough ask for him. The one thing about these races is that you can never win them if you don’t run in them, so we’ll see.”

Royal Ascot winner Alenquer is one of two contenders for Haggas in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (Photo: Focusonracing) - ROYAL ASCOT 2021

Of the Sheema Classic pair, Haggas said: “Alenquer (Tom Marquand) is in good shape after winning easily at Lingfield, and I think this is the sort of race he should be running in.

“I thought the track would be too quick and the surface probably quick enough but he’s clearly in good shape. It’s a strong race but he’s a nice horse.

“He put in a very good run in the Sandown Classic Trial last year when beating Adayar, who went on to win the Derby and the King George. He then ran another fine race when second (to Mishriff) in the Juddmonte at York.”

Dubai Honour (James Doyle) was a prolific scorer in 2021 and Haggas reflected: “Dubai Honour is very straightforward to train. He went from strength to strength last year when winning two Group Twos in France, before his good run (second) in the Champion Stakes, but this will be his first run over a mile and a half.

"We didn’t see him coming at all. We thought he’d win the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot last June which we would have done if we were drawn on the right side, but he was drawn on the far side and finished fourth overall but won his race comfortably.

“I know he likes cut in the ground, but he did run a very solid fourth in the Hong Kong Vase on quicker ground and finished good in a strong race. My concern is that his feet are like soup plates but who knows?”

Haggas believes Mohaafeth has a chance in the Dubai Turf (Photo: Focusonracing)

Of Dubai Turf duo Mohaafeth and My Oberon, the trainer observed: “I didn’t think Mohaafeth was running as well as he should have done, but we then discovered he had a compressed testicle and was a rig.

we didn’t think in his last races he was running as well as he possibly should have. We investigated and decided to take it out.

“My personal feeling is that in his last few races his last furlong over a mile and a quarter was weak and it certainly looked like it could be that which was troubling him. He’s got one less excuse now!

“We know that the problem has gone and it won’t bother him any more. My personal feeling is that last run (when fourth in the Juddmonte at York) was his weakest, but he has a nice draw and he has a chance in a strong race.

"He’s got a bit to find with the top-rated horses, but he’s in good form and we hope he’ll run a good race – he’s certainly got the scope to improve on his rating.”

“My Oberon earned his place when he won on the new track at Southwell, but has it all to do on the book.”

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