UAE Prince

There were several hard-luck stories in the 10-furlong handicap that opened proceedings at Goodwood on Tuesday, but UAE Prince was probably the most note-worthy of them.

Keen and steadied through the early stages of the race by Andrea Atzeni, he was second last of the 16 runners as they straightened up at the top of the home straight. Angled towards the stands side and still full of running, he tried to chart a path through traffic, but that is never easy at Goodwood. He did get a path at the furlong pole and he picked up well, but he ran into a cul de sac with 150 yards to run, and he was hampered a little in the backwash as Dark Red moved to his left and hampered Garcia, before running on again in the clear on the near side to take fourth place. He should have finished closer than that.

You can argue the case that a few of his rivals would also have finished closer than they did if they had had a clear run, but UAE Prince was up there with the best horses in the race on the day at the weights. He had run well on his previous run, his first since being gelded, in the John Smith’s Cup at York when he finished fourth behind Ballet Concerto. He enjoyed the run of the race that day, he raced handily in a race in which the early pace was not strong, but it was still a fine run on his comeback effort in a traditionally strong race that has worked out well since.

Tuesday’s run was another step forward, and he should be able to continue to progress. He has raced just seven times in his life, and just twice since his gelding operation, so he has lots of scope for progression. The handicapper left him on his mark of 97 after Tuesday’s run, and that is a mark off which there could be a good handicap in him. He goes well on easy ground and on fast ground, and this 10 furlongs is a good trip for him.

1^st August 2017