The daughter of Alcorano finished 6 1/2 lengths behind Flama Sunshine at Jebel Ali, and will now wait for a spot in the UAE Derby (G2)
JEBEL ALI, United Arab Emirates (Special for Turf Diario).- Expectations were high for the debut of the Uruguayan star Devassa on the local tracks this Sunday. Despite losing her undefeated record, the daughter of Alcorano delivered a positive performance under the circumstances, and will now await to see if she secures a spot in the UAE Derby (G2) next month at Meydan, during the Dubai World Cup (G1) meeting.
In a positive afternoon for the Cintra/Olascoaga stable, the 2024 best filly in Maroñas finished second, 6 1/2 lengths behind Flama Sunshine (Flameaway) in the Al Nayifat Stakes, run over 1400 meters on the tough Jebel Ali track, which has a steep incline in the final.
Carrying 60 1/2 kilos and giving 5 1/2 to each of her rivals, the filly didn’t have the smoothest journey and dropped significantly in distance, as she had previously ended her campaign in Montevideo, winning the Selección (G3) over 2000 meters.
Silvestre de Sousa tried repeatedly to free her up, and once he succeeded, Devassa showed class and courage to recover a couple of positions, although the winner had already long gone.
Now with her Derby dream in mind, the Stud Trouville representative was the overwhelming favorite for the race, and for her entire team, it will now be a matter of seeing how she physically recovers from the effort. If all goes well on that front, they will hope to receive an invitation for the race that concludes the local Triple Crown, facing the males.
It is worth noting that Flama Sunshine, despite her two recent poor performances, had previously beaten Queen Azteca(Sharp Azteca) in Meydan, currently the top filly there.
Cintra and Olascoaga also achieved their seventh win of the season on the same day – matching last year's record, as noted by colleague Héctor Puchi García – thanks to the generosity of Mount Kosciuszko (National Defense), who claimed the Newbury Racecourse Cup, a handicap with a rating range of 0 to 100 points, run over one mile. Veteran Patrick Dobbs shone in the saddle, waiting for the final turn to challenge the leader Regheeb (New Approach), beating him by 1 length in 1m37s69/100.
Earlier, the South American team had finished third with Norato (Brz-Kentuckian) in the Bin Dasmal Group Stakes(1400 m, dirt) and second with Don Vaccaro (Alcorano) in the Al Nawayef Stakes (1400 m).
Comments