Dubawi Gold may run in Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Ascot
Dubawi Gold’s chances of taking part in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes went up, when his connections hinted that the 4-year-old might step down to six furlongs.
Richard Hannon’s trainee has not run over that distance since the early days of his career. At the moment, the colt holds entries both for Darley July Cup at Newmarket and Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Ascot.
He has been running mostly over seven and nine furlongs. But there might be a change in the plans, as the colt is set to come down to six furlongs in a bid to grab an elusive Group 1 triumph.
Dubawi Gold was runner-up in last season’s Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, where he missed the gold medal by a few lengths. Under Richard Hughes, the colt tried his best, but failed to challenge the ultimate champion, Frankel.
He failed to add the winning touch when ran in the Group 1 Abu Dhabi Irish 2,000 Guineas at Curragh. Despite an all out effort, the 7-4 failed to finish first on the podium. Luck also did not twist in his favour, as he missed the crown only by ¾ a length.
The Andrew Tinkler-owned has been out of rhythm since his victory at Goodwood in last August. The Group 2 Betfair Celebration Mile saw topping the chart by half a length.
Dubawi Gold’s performance was not up to the mark last time out. At the end of last month, he showed a dismal show in the bet365 Mile at Sandown, ending up fourth on the chart.
Dubawi Gold’s connections are hoping for the better results this season. Tim Jones, racing manager to owner Andrew Tinkler, said:
"We ran him at Sandown and in hindsight we probably should have missed that one on that ground as soft as it was, but he's come out of it fine. He's ticking over and we maintained his entry in the Lockinge, but it is extremely unlikely he will run (at Newbury
on Saturday week).”
"We've got races at Royal Ascot like the Queen Anne and we've put him in two Group one sprints - the Diamond Jubilee and the July Cup. It's really just to have the options,” he added.
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