English/Ire
Quddwah spearheading strong Crisford team on Super Saturday
Simon and Ed Crisford will be hoping for a fruitful Super Saturday at Meydan tomorrow evening, with Quddwah heading the team’s strong line-up as he bids to get back to winning ways in the Singspiel Stakes.
The five-year-old son of Kingman has been a solid yardstick for the Crisford team in recent seasons and will look to add to his seven career victories when taking on seven rivals in the Group 2 Singspiel Stakes.
A winner of the Summer Mile Stakes back in 2024, Quddwah doubled his Group 2 tally and made a seamless transition to racing in the Middle East when making a winning debut in the Zabeel Mile in January.
He tasted defeat for the first time in the Middle East when fourth in a deep inaugural running of the Abu Dhabi Gold Cup earlier in the month but with legitimate excuses on that occasion and Ryan Moore booked to do the steering, Crisford feels there is plenty of optimism to be confident ahead of his return to Meydan.
"He came out of his last race well and has been in super form, so it's all systems go for Saturday," said Ed Crisford.
"It's probably not as strong as a race as the Abu Dhabi contest but there are a couple of decent horses in there like the Aga Khan horse.
"It's a smaller field; Abu Dhabi just didn't really go to plan. He was on the wing, stuck wide, with no cover which just isn't really what he likes, so hopefully back at Meydan things should be a bit more straightforward.
"He'll need to step up again from that Zabeel Mile win in January to be in the mix but he's in good form.
"He's a high-quality horse at the end of the day – he's won Summer Mile's and was just beaten in the Daniel Wildenstein; he's been fourth in a couple of Group 1's.
"He's a good horse and the style of racing out here suits him. They're beautiful flat tracks and the turf is nice well-watered grass.
"Ryan was available and we all know what his capabilities are. He's a straightforward horse and there are only eight runners so hopefully we can get into the right position and he can finish well."
The team will also be represented in the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint, with Cover Up looking to prove his worth over six furlongs, while Meydaan will have his first taste of racing on the dirt and Title Role gears up to take on Charlie Appleby's exciting Talk Of New York in the Jumeirah 2000 Guineas.
"There weren't any more five-furlong races for him but he's in super form and he has won over six furlongs before," said Ed Crisford of Cover Up.
"It's one of those where he's doing really well, he's in really good form, he's already out here and these flat tracks mean that if he's going to get it anywhere it's going to be here.
"We're going to find out a lot; it's quite a competitive field but if he can finish off well and then hopefully, he can go to World Cup night with a bit of a chance."
Carrying the formidable silks of Coolmore, Title Role will be looking to build on his recent success in a conditions event over the course and distance, with Crisford hopeful that he can put his track experience to good use.
He added: "He's done nothing wrong so far, he's won two of his four runs, and he's been thereabouts in the other two,"
"He's learning and maturing all the time. Since he's been out here, he just seems to be maturing more and more both physically and mentally.
"I'm expecting a big run from him. Obviously, you've got some different horses in the mix like Charlie's horse (Talk Of New York) who has only had one run and is very unexposed.
"He's got a bit more experience than some of the others and that might count for plenty tomorrow."
On the thought process of switching Meydaan to the dirt in the Al Maktoum Classic, Crisford said: "We've had it in mind because we put him in the Dubai World Cup when the entries closed,"
"He's been training well on the dirt every day since he's been here and to be honest, he just seems to go really well on it.
"We opted not to go to Saudi because we just feel he may not be so effective in those longer distance races. Even when he won here over a mile and six, they crawled round and he sprinted away from them.
"You have to have stamina over a mile and a quarter on the dirt. He trains well on it, if he can not be outpaced early, be involved in the race, then I'll think he'll finish well.
"Obviously, in dirt racing a lot of it depends on the start but he's got a good cruising speed, he's got a good draw, he travels well in his races, and he should have every chance of running a good race. On ratings, he's joint-top rated and it could open up more doors."
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