Dubai World Cup night preview | George Boughey on Al Quoz Sprint contender Al Dasim
Adam Houghton chats to George Boughey, who has the favourite for big races in both Dubai and Ireland on Saturday.
The story of George Boughey’s training career so far has been one of healthy year-on-year growth, but it’s fair to say that 2022 was the year when things went to a whole new level altogether.
Not only did the team at Saffron House Stables in Newmarket celebrate a century of winners for the first time with 136 on the Flat in Britain – a tally bettered by only Charlie & Mark Johnston (176), William Haggas (167), Charlie Appleby (152) and Roger Varian (140) – but Boughey also pocketed nearly £2 million in total earnings having never previously reached seven figures.
It was some achievement for a trainer in just his fourth season with a licence and so too was the victory of Cachet in the 1000 Guineas, that race alone worth £283,550 to the winner.
Just once before had Boughey saddled a runner in a classic – when Mystery Angel filled the runner-up spot in the previous year’s Oaks – and suddenly he was a winner at the very pinnacle of the sport having only tasted Group-race success in Britain for the first time when the same filly won the Nell Gwyn Stakes a few weeks earlier.
It was a sign of things to come as Boughey went on to make his presence felt at the biggest fixtures throughout the summer, notably at Royal Ascot where he achieved another milestone when Inver Park won the Buckingham Palace Stakes to give the trainer his first winner at that meeting.
For good measure, Boughey then doubled his tally later in the week when Missed The Cut won the Golden Gates Stakes, providing ample compensation after Cachet had managed only fifth when among the favourites for the Coronation Stakes the previous afternoon.
Al Dasim the rising star
There promises to be plenty more to look forward to with the likes of Cachet and Missed The Cut in 2023, but in the meantime it’s all about the action on Saturday as Boughey makes his face known on another of the biggest stages in the sport, specifically Dubai World Cup night at Meydan.
The race in question is the Group One Al Quoz Sprint where victory would secure Boughey the single biggest payday of his burgeoning training career to date. He looks ideally placed to grab the lion’s share of the $1.5-million prize fund, too, in the fortunate position of having the favourite for a race featuring runners from Britain, Ireland, USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
If you’d told Boughey just a few months ago that he’d be in this position then he probably would have laughed at you, but it’s testament to the rapid progress Al Dasim has made in that time that he’s now getting ready to go up against some of the best sprinters in the world, a three-year-old against his elders.
It’s a long way from Wolverhampton where Al Dasim won a couple of novice events in the autumn – pocketing a total of £9,045 for his troubles – though the son of Harry Angel is clearly a horse to whom Boughey took a shine from an early stage.
Boughey explained: “Al Dasim is a horse who we were actually underbidder on as a yearling, so I’ve known him quite a long time and I’d followed his career with his two previous trainers [Clive Cox and Kevin Philippart de Foy]. He was a nice horse to get in the yard.
“At the time he was a maiden winner and had finished in mid-division in a Listed race, so he’d shown a level of ability. He’s a good-looking horse and his work has always been good. We liked him when we first got him, but I didn’t think he’d reach these heights, certainly not quite so quickly.”
Al Dasim only joined the Boughey yard in September and he hadn’t been there long before his new trainer started to entertain thoughts of Dubai. His first victory at Wolverhampton in October booked his place on the plane and his second the following month – when defying a double penalty by three and a quarter lengths with plenty in hand – confirmed that he was heading to the Middle East as a horse very much on the upgrade.
It didn’t take long for Al Dasim to cover his travel expenses as he impressively won his first two starts on the turf at Meydan without needing to improve on his British form, landing a couple of conditions events against his own age group by a cumulative margin of nearly seven lengths and earning around £80,000.
And while the Group Three Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint on Super Saturday provided a much tougher test, Boughey wasn’t surprised by the manner in which Al Dasim once again dismissed his rivals, making the most of the 10 lb he received from the older horses in opposition as he forged clear in the final furlong to win by two and a quarter lengths.
“It didn’t surprise me what he did on Super Saturday,” Boughey confirmed. “But it wouldn’t be the conventional route to go and take on the older horses this early in the year. He’s still not three yet – he’s two weeks away from his third birthday.
“The first two races he was still a bit of a work in progress. He took a bit of time to acclimatise when he got out here. We were pleased with him, but he wasn’t fully there and his work has improved a lot. Ryan King who rides him every day out here has done a super job with him. He’s probably more confident than the trainer!
“He’s an incredibly relaxed horse and he makes me very relaxed to be around him because he’s got such a good mind now. He used to give us a worry or two down at the start and he wore a lip chain and a rug in the stalls. But that sort of streak has gone from him now and he's become a very straightforward horse who is allowing himself to improve.”
All eyes on the Al Quoz Sprint
The big question now is whether Al Dasim can improve again and come out on top in a cosmopolitan field for the Al Quoz Sprint as he seeks a first Group One success. The bookies certainly think so as he currently heads the betting ahead of the Appleby-trained Al Suhail and Hong Kong raider Sight Success, both of whom have experience on their side at the age of six.
Al Dasim, on the other hand, has history against him as he tries to become the first three-year-old winner of the Al Quoz Sprint – albeit very few of his age group have tried – but Boughey is simply enjoying the journey with a horse who has come a long way in a short space of time and seemingly couldn’t be in better shape as Saturday draws closer.
“I can’t remember ever sending a horse to the races who looks as well as he does,” Boughey summed up. “And there will be very few excuses from the draw we’ve got.
“He’s going to jump from stall eight in the middle of the pack and naturally we’ll come right hand down slightly towards the stands side. Miqyaas will go forward from there and there are plenty of others who go forward on our side. I’d like him to get a lead and the race should set up nicely for him if he’s good enough.
“It's a surprise one, I didn’t expect him to be here. But to have a favourite for a Group One on World Cup night is massive and it’s everything that we’re trying to do. We have a big emphasis on trying to have horses dotted around the world where we can and where we’re running for better prize money than we are in England.
“It’s a credit to all the staff and I’m very lucky just to turn up and put the saddle on. They do all the hard work. We had a winner in France earlier in the week and the horse who is favourite for the Irish Lincolnshire headed off this morning. We’re active on all shores at the moment and it’s great the way it’s going.”
Totally Charming bids for Irish breakthrough
Boughey is yet to saddle a winner in Ireland from three attempts, but he could break yet more new ground on Saturday as Totally Charming lines up in the Paddy Power Irish Lincolnshire, perhaps not quite so valuable as the Al Quoz Sprint but still well worth winning in its own right with a total prize fund of €100,000.
As short as 9/2 in the sponsor’s betting, Totally Charming was one of the most progressive handicappers around in 2022, winning four of his eight starts and producing a career best when last seen landing a competitive heat at Doncaster in October. Crucially, he seemed to relish the testing conditions on Town Moor and it’s for that reason that a trip to the Curragh became such an attractive proposition for his seasonal reappearance.
Boughey explained: “Totally Charming is a horse who is pretty good off a break and he’s going there in good shape. I was a bit frustrated to see him drawn so wide, but I’ve had a second look at it and there are three reserves drawn inside us which would take us to sort of 19. And there’s a little bit of pace out wide.
“He’s a horse who doesn’t typically go forward, but he will certainly like the ground. It was heavy, autumn ground when he won at Doncaster and I’ve always wanted to run him on very soft ground, so I won’t have that as an excuse. And there isn’t anyone riding who knows their way at the Curragh better than Colin Keane, so we’re in good hands and I won’t need to tell him much to do.”
Totally Charming also has an entry in the Lincoln back at Doncaster next weekend, but the greater likelihood of soft ground at the Curragh has seen the Irish Lincolnshire take precedence.
Boughey could still have up to three runners in the Lincoln with Air To Air, Baradar and Koy Koy all being aimed at the traditional curtain-raiser to the Flat season in Britain. Baradar looks the pick of them if the ante-post betting is anything to go by, though Boughey stressed that he too needs the word ‘soft’ to appear in the going description to be seen to best effect.
Either way, it promises to be a busy couple of weeks for Boughey and he is understandably eager to get going as he tries to build on the success of last year with another bumper team of horses in 2023.
Boughey summed up: “It’s very exciting. The two-year-olds are just starting to get going a bit now and we’ve been lucky this year in that we’ve had a lot of horses training on the grass. We didn’t last year quite so much and they’re definitely more forward and ready to start. We’ve got a busy weekend coming up and then it’s on to Doncaster next weekend. We’re ready to rock and roll.
“We had quite a significant clear out at the February Sale. We’re trying to maintain a number of horses that is manageable. We’d have over 150 horses in training, but not significantly more than last year. It’s giving us a chance to try and find another good one which is what we’re always trying to do.”
Shadwell on board and Cachet back for more
Boughey’s prospects of finding another good one have perhaps been increased by Shadwell’s decision to add him to their roster of trainers for 2023, a display of faith he described as “a feather in anyone’s cap”.
“They’re the horses that you want in the yard,” he added. “We’ve only got one in at the moment for them, but there’s three nice fillies to come later in the year with pedigrees that I haven’t really been lucky enough to train yet. It’s very exciting and hopefully we can get off the ground through the summer with them.”
As for Al Dasim, Boughey identified the Commonwealth Cup as the likeliest summer target for him following a break on his return to British soil, while Cachet will also be back in action soon enough, a filly who is still very much the apple of her trainer’s eye after her exploits last year.
“I think Cachet has to be the star of the show really,” Boughey said. “It was a question of whether she was going to be sold at the end of the year or go on again, but she seems in super health and we’ll head to the Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes at Lingfield [May 13], all being well.
“She’s not galloped yet, but she doesn’t really need to. She’s very forward in her coat for this time of year and I’m delighted with her.”
Cachet strutting her stuff up Warren Hill.
— Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) March 23, 2023
🤩 @gbougheyracing's 1000 Guineas winner was bought by @HighclereRacing @JakeJWarren for 60,000gns from @HydeStud at the #TattsCraven Breeze Up Sale. pic.twitter.com/G80l7yXR9D
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