Vercingetorix makes it a perfect six in Jebel Hatta

Vercingetorix makes it a perfect six in Jebel Hatta

Straightening for home, Anaerobio was steered out wide by Pat Cosgrave,

kindly opening a giant gap for Vercingetorix. The undefeated favorite

capitalized on the favor from his stable companion and went on to stop the

teletimer in 1:49 1/5.

"He is a very useful horse," de Kock said, "but it is hard to know just how

good because he only ever does enough. In all his races he has traveled really

well and gone to the front easily before quickening.

"He then tends to stop and wait for some company, as Christophe discovered

last time. It is great to win a Group 1 here with him and the Dubai Duty Free is

the obvious target.

"He did not take the travel and quarantine well and we are delighted to have

him back at his best."

Vancouverite did his best work late to nab Anaerobio by a neck for second.

Late-running Trade Storm was the same margin away in fourth, and Mushreq

likewise a neck adrift in fifth. Next came Edu Querido, Mars, Tanfeeth, Quick

Wit, Linton, L'Amour de Ma Vie, Al Waab and the distanced Samurai Sword.

Mustaheel was scratched.

Unraced at two, Vercingetorix progressed rapidly after breaking his maiden at

Vaal last March. He went on to win three straight at Greyville, notably notching

hard-fought decisions in the May 4 KRA Guineas and the June 1 Greyville 2,000.

On both occasions, Vercingetorix outdueled a savvier foe in Cape Guineas and

Derby hero Capetown Noir, who has since captured the January 11 Queen's Plate.

Vercingetorix is a half-brother to multiple South African Group 3 heroine

Trinity House, the runner-up in the 2011 Cape Fillies Guineas, as well as to

Group 2-placed Never Forever. They were all produced by National Vixen, a Group

2-placed daughter of National Assembly. South African champion sprinter Extra

Cover and Group 1 victors Steaming Jungle and St. Johns Wood are also in the

family.

A cavalry charge erupted down the stretch, with no shortage of contenders in

the hunt. Battle of Marengo was assailed by Meandre, Penglai Pavilion and

Songcraft, and the closers began to get involved.

Excellent Result needed a way through the traffic, and finding it, he sliced

through and forced his head in front of stablemate Songcraft in a final time of

2:32 4/5. The trip was a harbinger of stablemate Prince Bishop's one race later

in the Group 1 Maktoum Challenge Round 3, where Fallon again found room in the

midst of horses aboard a bin Suroor runner.

"I got lucky in the end," Fallon told

godolphin.com, "and the gaps came for me because I was in trouble for a long

way up the straight with nowhere to go.

"Excellent Result is obviously a good horse in the making. He is still a big

baby who is still improving. I think that he will be a good horse one day."

"I like Excellent Result a lot," bin Suroor told the stable website. "He is

improving all of the time and this is his second victory of the year at Meydan.

"We will keep the options open regarding whether to go for the Dubai Sheema

Classic or Dubai Gold Cup (Group 3 over two miles) on World Cup night. We will

talk with H H Sheikh Mohammed and then decide.

"Songcraft ran a great race and he is a better horse that he was last year,"

the trainer added.

Mount Athos produced a sustained rally on the inside rail and just failed to

crash the Godolphin party. Meandre's bid flattened out in the waning yards, and

he wound up another 1 1/4 lengths back in fourth. Dabadiyan, Sheikhzayedroad,

Penglai Pavilion, Jamr, Start Right, Model Pupil, Ralston Road, a

rapidly-weakening Battle of Marengo, Mujaarib, Heavy Metal and Interpret rounded

out the order under the wire. Tanfeeth was withdrawn.

Excellent Result's scorecard now stands at 10-4-0-1. Third to the

highly-regarded Telescope in his debut as a juvenile, he broke his maiden three

starts later at Sandown. He was then pitched straight into a heritage handicap

at Royal Ascot, the King George V, and was beaten all of three lengths in a

creditable seventh of 18.

Freshened for the rest of the summer, Excellent Result returned to take

another heritage handicap over the same course and 1 1/2-mile trip last

September. He concluded a promising sophomore campaign with a fourth in a York

handicap in October, and kicked off his Carnival with a fourth to Certerach in a

January 23 handicap.  Excellent Result turned the tables in the

aforementioned marathon on February 6.

Bred by Tom and Geraldine Molan in Ireland, Excellent Result brought $94,703

as a Goffs November weanling. His dam, the Sadler's Wells mare Line Ahead, is a

half-sister to South African Group 1 winner Potala Palace. He descends from the

superb female line of classic heroes Golan and North Light.

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