Pride of Dubai Group Double

Pride of Dubai has had two Group winners in two days with Pride of Jenni taking out the Group II MVRC Feehan Stakes last night at Moonee Valley then on Saturday his Kiwi bred son Desert Lightning struck top form for his new trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman to win the Group III MRC Sandown Stakes (1500m)

Desert Lightning was a five-race winner and million-dollar earner in New Zealand for the now-retired training team of Peter and Dawn Williams. He finished fourth in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) as a two-year-old and second in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at three, then went to a new level last season with scintillating wins in the Gr.1 TAB Classic (1600m) and the inaugural $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m).

He made his debut for Moody and Coleman with an eye-catching third in the Listed Chautauqua Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on September 7, and he was right at the peak of his powers second-up on Saturday.

Jockey Luke Nolen had Desert Lightning handily placed in third, then pounced at the top of the straight. The five-year-old sprinted to the lead before the 200m mark and dashed clear to win by a length over race favourite Craig.

 

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uo;I was very pleased with what he did first-up in a sprint race at Moonee Valley under a big weight,” Nolen said. “His work through the week suggested he’d bounced through that run well and would be a big chance in this race. He still has a bit of improvement left in him too, so I don’t think this is his ceiling.”

Desert Lightning was a $190,000 purchase by Peter and Dawn Williams from Little Avondale Stud’s draft in Book 1 of Karaka 2021 and has now had 20 starts for six wins and seven placings with $1.2 million in prizemoney for his owners, Sarah Green and Ger Beemsterboer’s Barneswood Farm.

“We’ve been really pleased with how he’s progressed since his first-up run, and we still think he’s got a bit more to come, which is exciting,” Katherine Coleman said.

“He’s a really, really nice horse. We’re incredibly thankful to the connections for putting him in our stable.

“He’ll head towards the Toorak (Gr.1, 1600m) now. Provided he takes the improvement that we still think he’s got to come, he’s an exciting prospect for a race like that. The mile looks like it’s really his sweet spot as far as distances are concerned, so that race stands out as the obvious target.

“He’s a bit of a quirky boy. He took a little while to settle in at our stable, but he’s been doing everything right lately and we’ve been very pleased with him.”

Bred by the Mahoenui Partnership, Desert Lightning is the best of three winners from High Chaparral mare Isstoora, an unraced daughter of stakes winning juvenile Murjana from the Twyla branch of the Redoute’s Choice family that has produced Group I winners Gathering, In Italian and Tom Kitten.

Isstoora was bred by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and was onsold at the 2019 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $90,000 to Bruce Perry Bloodstock and made her way to New Zealand with a positive test to Pride of Dubai and Desert Lightning was the result of the mating.

She has been married to Per Incanto (USA) in recent years and has an unnamed two year-old filly and yearling colt by the son of Street Cry, but no foal this spring after having a year off in 2023.

Pride of Dubai is unbeatable value at Coolmore this spring at a fee of $22,000.