Stallion Profile October 2003

E Dubai

Mr. Prospector son has a legacy of speed

A fast son of champion sire Mr. Prospector and a $US1.35m yearling, E Dubai (USA) is one of 10 sires on the roster at Darley’s new property at Aberdeen. In this profile on E Dubai, DAVID BAY looks at a young sire who has the pedigree and performance to make the grade at stud in both hemispheres.

THE recent open day at Darley’s new Aberdeen property gave everyone present the chance to witness Sheikh Mohammed’s commitment to the Australian thoroughbred industry.
In just 12 months the property has had an amazing transformation into a world class operation, but this is only fitting when you consider the horsepower in the stallion boxes.
Champion racehorses like Carnegie, Street Cry and Fantastic Light head the line-up that also includes classic winner King’s Best, star juveniles Xaar, Lujain, Tobourgg and Noverre, one of the world’s hottest young sire in Elusive Quality and Mr. Prospector’s brilliant son E Dubai.
The last named is the subject of this stallion profile and at his 2003 fee of $16,500 he could easily prove to be a great bargain for canny broodmare owners.
A $US1.35m purchase at the 1999 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, he is from the penultimate crop of Mr. Prospector (Raise a Native-Gold Digger by Nashua) who, along with Northern Dancer, dominates pedigrees worldwide.
A handsome horse with length, plenty of scope and athleticism, E Dubai really caught the eye at the Darley parade and it’s easy to see why he was an expensive yearling.
He lived up to the price tag too, breaking his maiden over 5f (1000m) in 57.8 on debut at Del Mar in July of his two year-old season before finishing sixth in the Best Pal Stakes-Gr.3 on August 23, 2000 when shinsore. It was his only other run as a juvenile.
Sent to winter in Dubai, he made his 2001 debut mid-April at Nad al Sheba for trainer Saeed bin Suroor with a nine length demolition of his stablemate Dubai to Dubai in the inaugural $US200,000 Al Bastikiya Stakes (1800m) - it was the performance of a very good horse.
He returned to America and had his next start in an Allowance race over 8.5f (1700m) at Belmont Park on May 12. If anyone needed further confirmation of his speed, this was given with his “wire to wire” win and fractions of :23.38, :46.16 and 1:10.39 for the first six furlongs. He made an explosive move in the straight to draw clear of seven rivals and win by 12.5 lengths, covering the 8.5f in 1:41.14.
The Godolphin Racing colt’s other major win of the year came in the Dwyer Stakes-Gr.2 (8.5f), also at Belmont Park at what was just his sixth start.
After the Allowance win he was beaten into second place by Hero’s Tribute in the Peter Pan Stakes-Gr.2 (9f) after a battle royale in the straight, but he turned the tables on that horse in the Dwyer, winning by a dominating 5.75 lengths from Windsor Castle with Hero’s Tribute a further 1.25 lengths astern.
Under jockey Jerry Bailey, E Dubai broke awkwardly but quickly collected himself to take the lead. He raced through fractions of :22.26, :44.09, and 1:07.93 for the first six furlongs before pulling away on the turn. His time for the 8.5f on a sloppy track was 1:40.38, the fastest running of the Dwyer since the distance was changed from 9f in 1994.
“I didn’t envision him going that fast, but he broke well and I figured that I might as well take the lead away from Hero’s Tribute,” Bailey said. “It was just smooth sailing after that.”
“The time between races definitely helped today,” Godolphin assistant trainer Tom Albertrani said after the Mr. Prospector’s colt romp.
“I hadn’t seen him since he ran here in the Peter Pan on May 26, and he looks a lot better now with more muscle. I wasn’t worried about a wet track, although I was hoping for a fast track.”
E Dubai finished the season with two good performances at the highest level. Finishing runner-up to Horse of the Year Point Given in the historic Travers Stakes-Gr.1 (10f-2000m) at Saratoga, beating Dollar Bill and AP Valentine and also finishing second in the Super Derby-Gr.1 (10f-2000m) at Louisiana Downs. He’d won three times and finished runner-up three times in his six starts for the season.
From just three starts the following season he won the Suburban Handicap-Gr.2 (2000m) after a fourth-placed finish in the Brooklyn Handicap-Gr.2.
In the Suburban (a Gr.1 event the previous year), jockey John Valasquez capitalised on a speed-favouring track in a race without any quality front-runners, to set a controlled pace aboard E Dubai. The horse held on on through the final 400m to record a three-quarter length victory over Lido Palace (CHI). Favourite and Gr.1 winner Macho Uno was another length back in third.
“I had so much confidence today. I was relaxed on him throughout most of the race. I basically was a passenger on him to the quarter pole. I asked him to run and he responded and ran hard,” said Velazquez.
E Dubai hit the line in 2:00.95 for his fifth victory in 10 starts, winning from 1000m-2000m. The win was worth $US300,000 and increased his prizemoney to $US920,800. He retired after one more run.
E Dubai’s sire Mr. Prospector, a stakeswinning sprinter and twice Champion Sire of the USA, had 729 winners (179SW) from 960 runners (75/9%) and progeny earnings topping $US95m.
He has a vast number of sons at stud around the world including high profiles sires like Gone West, Kingmambo, Fappiano, Woodman, Forty Niner, Gulch, Hussonet, Seeking the Gold, Miswaki, Crafty Prospector and Afleet.
His Kentucky Derby-winning son Fusaichi Pegasus shuttles to Australia but is yet to have runners, however the line’s success has been continued here via sons like Bellotto, Mr Henrysee, Geiger Counter, Rhythm and the NZ-based Straight Strike and Faltaat as well as numerous grandsons and great-grandsons.
E Dubai’s pedigree contains no Northern Dancer but his damline offers some intriguing matches with mares carrying that horse, particularly via sons of Danzig.
Words of War, E Dubai’s dam, won nine races and $US683,000 including the River Downs Breeders’ Cup Stakes-LR and was runner-up three times at Gr.3 level.
She is a daughter of the Argentinean-bred Lord At War (General-Luna de Miel by Con Brio), a champion miler who was a Gr.1 winner at three in Argentina before continuing his career in the USA where he won the Santa Anita Handicap-Gr.1 (with Bill Shoemaker aboard, giving the him the honour of becoming the first jockey to win $US100m in prizemoney) and the San Antonio Handicap-Gr.1 among 10 wins in 17 starts.
A very good stallion who overcame some prejudice to make a successful career in Kentucky, he left 35 stakes winners including the Gr.1 winners Honor in War, John’s Call and La Guerierre before his death in 1998, aged 18.
Bred by Haras San Francisco de Pilar in Argentina, Lord at War is inbred 5mx4f to Petition (sire of the second dam of Danzig) and 4fx5m to Hyperion (the male line via Aristophanes, whose son Forli features in the pedigrees of horses like Nureyev and Sadler’s Wells).
Lord At War’s dam Luna Di Miel is by Con Brio (a son of Ribot), a very successful sire in South America.
Lord At War is a son of the Prix Thomas Byron-Gr.3 winner General, a horse bred by Baron Guy de Rothchild in France and a son of the wonderful racehorse Brigadier Gerard (Queen’s Hussar-La Paiva by Prince Chevalier) and Mercuriale (by Pan II (FR), a horse who stood in Australia and was sold back to France by Lionel Israel, then owner of Segenhoe Stud [Vinery] Scone. General has been a very successful sire in South America, with several Gr.1 winners.
Words of War has had three foals to race including the Gr.1 winner No Matter What (Nureyev), successful in the Del Mar Oaks. Her dam Right Word (Verbatim) is a placed sister to stakes winner Spruce Song and also produced the Gr.3 winner Ascutney (by Lord At War) and stakes winner War O’Ransom (Red Ransom).
This is the family of stakes winners and sires Danzig Connection and Roi Danzig.
Seventh dam Jacola (by Jacopo) won the Selima Stakes and the Washington Handicap and is a half-sister to Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Johnstown (Jamestown), a successful sire (damsire of Nashua), who also counted the Dwyer Stakes among his victories.
Jacola is a grandaughter of Flambette (by Durbar), winner of the CCA Oaks and ancestor of Success Express, Minstrella, Northern Baby, Omaha, Phalanx and Flares.
It is a family that has produced several influential sires and E Dubai is certainly being given the chance at Darley to add his name to that honour board.
He has the looks, pedigree and performance to make his mark as a sire.