First Classs joined the likes of Madjani and Alanudd to become a multiple winner of the Gr1 Dubai Kahayla Classic (2000m), also becoming the first to reclaim his crown, having won it in 2022 for different connections.
First Classs holds off Tilal Al Khalediah to win the Dubai Kahayla Classic (Pic – Dubai Racing Club/Liesl King)
It was a fourth run for the now Doug Watson-trained eight-year-old, having posted a third in 2023 before finishing down the field last year.
Despite drawing the car park in stall 14 and having to go at least five-wide on the first turn, Connor Beasley found his mount in good rhythm just on the outside of the leaders with favourite and last year’s winner Tilal Al Khalediah watching it all unfold right behind the leading group down the back stretch.
As Tariq began to fade away around the home turn, First Classs got the first-mover’s advantage. He hit the lead 400m from home and repelled a strong sustained challenge from Tilal Al Khalediah, who seemed certain to get there for much of the straight under Adel Al Furaydi. Mubeed, the mount of Ray Dawson, stayed on for a distant third.
A gritty performance from the winner saw the jockey-trainer combo bag their first Gr1 Dubai Kahayla Classic victory.
Widely recognisable for his striking grey appearance, the eight-year-old had gone strength-to-strength all through the domestic season posting a comeback victory in the Gr1 Abu Dhabi Gold Cup (2200m) in February before finishing second in the Gr1 Emirates Championship (2200m) in the Emirati capital last month.
Jockey Connor Beasley said: “Big credit goes to Doug Watson and his team because it’s only the third time I’ve ever sat on this horse. He won me a big one down at Abu Dhabi and then ran a massive race there a couple of weeks ago. To get him here in peak form is a big job to do.
“He jumped pretty smart and got a lovely position going down the back there. He was travelling so good, the race collapsed in front of me and I had to get him on his way. He was very determined and gritty all the way to the line and Doug and his team have done a fantastic job to get him through the season.
“Dubai is special for me, I wouldn’t be getting on these sorts of animals at home. I’ve had a great season all winter, obviously this has just topped it off nicely. It would be great to do it again later on but we’ve got one on the board which is great.”
Trainer Doug Watson said: “Amazing, I’m so happy for Deb (owner Deborah Mihaloff). I’m so happy for the team. I’m so happy for the horse. Just seeing him come back like this after last season, it’s amazing. He’s tough as they come and we’ve been second in this a couple of times, this is fantastic. The key has been keeping him fresh. He’s just been perfect all year, he’s been happy and his coat’s come right. I’m so pleased for everyone. It’s been a rough year for me so this means so much.
“He’s a tough horse, I think that’s his fourth race winning a million-dollar race, he’s a pure racehorse and it’s lovely to see him come back from an off season and do something like that.
“I’ve been here 32 years and I’ve been to every World Cup. Worked the first one as an ambulance driver and now we’re winning races. It’s our first Arabian win, we used to have some extremely nice ones for His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid, finished second a couple of times and never won it. It’s just super to win on the night any time.”
Tilal Al Khalediah (2nd), trainer Nasser Mutlaq Alkahtani said: “I’m happy with the horse but a little bit disappointed to finish second.”
Mubeed (3rd), jockey Ray Dawson said: “He’s run a cracker. He’s still a little bit green and babyish and I think the front pair felt each other’s presence and they both raced away from me. But I’m very pleased with him.”
Djafar (4th), jockey Silvestre de Sousa said: “It was a good run, he didn’t stay the trip.”
Tariq (5th), jockey Maxime Guyon said: “We had a good trip upsides the leader but then he took a bit of waking up turning in. He never gave up and galloped all the way to the line. He ran a brave race.”
Najeeb Al Zaman (6th), jockey Juan Ospina said: “My horse is a good horse, he ran last time in Riyadh very well but he took a long time to recover. Today he wasn’t 100 per cent but it was a good run. We will see for the future but it was a tough race.”
Vica Grine (7th), jockey Jean-Bernard Eyquem said: “He went good, close to the pace. In the middle of the home turn, he was still trying hard. A bit lazy at times, but he never stopped.
Kanaille De Faust (8th), jockey Danny Tudhope said: “He ran well, he just wasn’t good enough.”
Unleashed (9th), jockey Richard Mullen said: “Just flat, he’s not the horse he was during the early part of the season. His last run and today were probably his worst runs. He just felt like a horse that’s very, very tired.”
Vizhir (10th), jockey Oisin Murphy said: “I had a good position behind the Saudi horse who finished second but I couldn’t finish off.”
RB Malexis (11th), jockey Adrie de Vries said: “She travelled lovely with me, we even followed the favourite turning into the last bend, but then she got tired. She probably didn’t stay.”
Suny Du Loup (12th), jockey Al Moatasem Al Balushi said: “Very quick race and it was tough for him.”
AF Maqam (14th), jockey Tadhg O’Shea said: “Nothing went wrong but he just wasn’t good enough.”
