DIVINE JURY GETS INTERESTING FOR DUBAI DUTY FREE

If races were run in lanes LINNGARI (41) would almost certainly be regarded as one of the best horses on the planet. Unfortunately they aren't. And because Linngari is only a small horse he seems to always come off worst in the traffic problems that occur in big fields and in the tightly packed contests they have in France due to the slow pace of races over there.

Outside of France Linngari has run eleven times in fields of a dozen or less since losing on his racecourse debut. He's won ten of those eleven times and run some tremendous times in top races. His latest success came in a hot seven and a half furlong contest at Nad Al Sheba.

As usual Linngari came from the back and met a fair bit of traffic when trying to find a run. However once he was in the clear he produced a tremendous surge to get up and win going away.

Linngari always seems to run his very best on his first two starts of the year here at Nad Al Sheba. In 2006 he won his first two starts at Nad Al Sheba. In 2007 he won first time out here and followed that up by running a half length second to the brilliant Admire Moon in the world's most valuable turf race, the Dubai Duty Free.

If Linngari is once more be kept fresh and heads straight to the Dubai Duty Free I rather doubt that he'll do as well as he did in the race last year though. On that occasion his chance was helped by the fact that he was drawn widest of all in the sixteen runner field. This enabled him to steer clear of the traffic he normally encounters. Unless he gets a similarly wide draw this year or the race somehow cuts up to a dozen runners I'd bet on Linngari being prevented from winning by traffic problems. His best chance of winning again at Nad Al Sheba probably lies in the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort, a race he's won in each of the last two years. That race normally features a small enough field for Linngari.

Runner-up DIVINE JURY (40) was returning from injury over a trip a bit short of his best. So his run was most promising. He gradually wore down his rivals to get into the lead inside the last furlong but couldn't respond to the winner's late burst.

Divine Jury ran his best ever race when stepped up to nine furlongs on his last start to take the Group 1 South African Classic. The only previous time he'd faced a real test of stamina was when he ran over a mile in the Group 2 Dingaans at Turffontein, the stiffest track in South Africa (the course rises by 43 feet running into the homestraight). He should therefore appreciate a longer trip than the seven and a half furlongs he ran over here, and that certainly looked to be the case from the way he ran. He looked stretched by the trip to me and emerges as the best Dubai Duty Free candidate from the contest in my opinion.

HONOUR DEVIL TOUGH TO BEAT IN UAE GUINEAS

HONOUR DEVIL (40) took a while to get going when winning a seven furlong dirt Conditions race at Nad Al Sheba. But after much stoking up by Johnny Murtagh he began to stride clear in the last furlong to end up a five length winner. It looked like he was wanting longer. Then again the early pace wasn't that strong. This resulted in them running the two furlongs immediately before the last furlong in just 23.5 seconds. It could be that Honour Devil was simply stretched by this injection of pace. But my gut feel is that this big, strong, handsome horse really does need further. So I imagine trainer Mike de Kock is thinking in terms of the Godolphin Mile or maybe even the Dubai World Cup after his obvious next target of the UAE Guineas. Certainly Honour Devil looks to be a Group 1 prospect who should be very tough too beat in the UAE Guineas.

The official handicap ratings hinted at Honour Devil's potential here because he was rated 104 even though the only race he'd ever run in before was a maiden at Palermo in Argentina. However he won that race by five lengths from Great Guy who proceeded to win Listed and Group 3 races. He clocked a time over two seconds better than good older horses in another race on the same card and equaled the time of Fairy Magic who went on to win twice in Group 1 company.

GOOD WARM UP BY ASIATIC BOY

The only defeat ASIATIC BOY (38) has ever suffered in six starts on dirt was when he ran second over six furlongs on his racecourse debut. All his best form has been over longer distances. This being so there was always a risk that he would get outpaced when cut back to six furlongs for his seasonal debut at Nad Al Sheba. This is exactly what happened. But the early pace was so strong it enabled Asiatic Boy's stamina to kick in late. As a result he got his head in front in the last furlong to win going away.

It wasn't pretty, but this was a good warm up for Asiatic Boy as he builds up towards a shot at the Dubai World Cup.

Incidentally it's worth noting here that in South Africa and Australia it's perfectly normal for the top middle distance horses to be brought back to win sprints off a lay-off. So trainer Mike de Kock wasn't doing anything that unusual here. If he follows the normal routine of South African and Australian trainers he'll steadily build up the distance of Asiatic Boy's races as he heads towards the ten furlongs of the Dubai World Cup.

Will Asiatic Boy stay the Dubai World Cup distance? There's obviously no guarantee. But I wouldn't be guided by his loss in the Juddmonte International. That race was on yielding turf and the early pace was slow, neither of which can have suited him. He was still full of run at the end of the nine furlong UAE Derby, so I'm tending towards optimism about his stamina. He's certainly run quick enough to merit serious consideration for the race and will no doubt win a longer race more impressively than this one beforehand.

HAPPY BOY A SERIOUS WORLD CUP CONTENDER

If Sheikh Mohammed wants to win the Dubai World Cup this year he may have to get out his cheque book. I say this because the Brazilian horse HAPPY BOY (41) looks a serious challenger for the race following his win in the first round of the Maktoum Challenge at Nad Al Sheba.

Happy Boy showed why he's regarded as the best dirt runner in Brazil by running away with this race. After getting a bump at the start he moved easily on the rails a few lengths off the pace and then cruised up effortlessly through to lead as they rounded the turn with less than three furlongs to go.

Happy Boy eased ahead so quickly that his jockey kept looking around from the two furlong mark, clearly finding it hard to believe his mount was simply cantering away from decent rivals.

The clock shows just how good a performance Happy Boy put up here. They went a much faster early pace in his contest than any other on the card, covering the first half mile 0.7 of a second quicker than the next fastest race and the first six furlongs half a second faster. Yet Happy Boy still managed to clock a faster final furlong than in the three shorter races on the card and ran significantly closer to my standard time than any other winner.

This was Happy Boy's fifth win in six starts on dirt. And it's clear from the way he was finishing and his record that he's just as good if not better over longer than the mile he ran here. His biggest win to date came in ten furlong Group 2 on dirt in Brazil. He's also won Listed and Group 3 contests over twelve furlongs on turf.

My one concern is that Happy Boy is rather narrow and light-framed. In my experience horses with physiques like this are best fresh. I can't trace all of Happy Boy's record to check this out. But I do see his last win came off a break like this one did. This being so I'd like to see him have no more than one additional run before the Dubai World Cup and for that run to come at least five weeks before the big race.