Lord North dares to rule again on Dubai turf

A six-year-old son of Dubawi, the superstar Darley stallion, Lord North is reported to be in great shape heading to Dubai

By Leslie Wilson Jr

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Lord North's two-length victory in the Dubai Turf was one of the highlights of the 2021 Dubai World Cup meeting. (AFP file)
Lord North's two-length victory in the Dubai Turf was one of the highlights of the 2021 Dubai World Cup meeting. (AFP file)

Published: Wed 16 Mar 2022, 12:00 AM

Despite breaking a blood vessel during the race, the regally-named British-trained Lord North showed the stuff he is made of when denying Japan another success in the G1 Dubai Turf, one of the world’s richest turf contests with a purse of $5million.

Twelve months on, he is set to defend his crown at Meydan where he must once again cope with a Japanese galloper, in this case, the 7/2 favourtie, Schnell Meister.


Lord North’s two-length victory in the Dubai Turf was one of the highlights of the 2021 Dubai World Cup meeting although it ended on a sad note when upon his return to scale the gelding had blood present in one nostril and a subsequent endoscopic examination revealed a degree of bleeding.

He was subsequently given time to recover by his twin handlers, the father and son team of John and Thady Gosden, before appearing on the all-weather track at Lingfield in England to run a very good second in the G3 Winter Derby.


A six-year-old son of Dubawi, the superstar Darley stallion, Lord North is reported to be in great shape heading to Dubai.

After his comeback race earlier this month, Gosden Sr reported: “Lord North was entitled to need his comeback run at Lingfield after such a long spell off and has come out of that in good shape.”

Lord North has amassed over £2.3m in prize money in his career primarily through wins in top races like the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket, England, and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Unlike last year where he went into the race as the 11/8 favourite, he is an 8/1 shot to become the first horse to win the Dubai Turf in successive years.

Among his rivals are the Japanese-trained Schnell Meister, who must be respected given the dominance of the home nation at last month’s Saudi Cup meeting where they won four races.

Schnell Meister has won at both Group 1 and 2 level on turf at Tokyo last year before chasing home Gran Alegria in the prestigious Mile Championship at Hanshin in November.

Emirati handler Saeed bin Suroor, who has won the races on six occasions in the past and most recently with Benbatl in 2018, sends out the progressive Real World.

The four-year-old won four times in Britain last season, including in the Royal Hunt Cup and the Group 2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein on Arc weekend at Longchamp, before his handler took the bold step to switch him to dirt where he came out with flying colours when landing the Zabeel Mile.

A classy Dubai Turf field also includes the smart four-year-olds Mohaafeth and Saffron Beach.


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