MENDELSSOHN BAY PROVES TOO STRONG IN UAE 2000 GUINEAS

By Alan Carasso

Mendelssohn Bay (Mendelssohn), whose sire won the 2018 G2 UAE Derby by an Arabian desert in track-record time and whose broodmare sire Curlin counts the G1 Dubai World Cup amongst his conquests, stalked a good pace and kept on gamely through the final 200 metres to win Friday’s G3 UAE 2000 Guineas at Meydan Racecourse.

Ridden forward by Pat Cosgrave, the Bhupat Seemar stable’s second string sat just outside of pacesetting Military Artist (Munnings), as that one took the Guineas field along at a decent tempo. Asked to come after the front-runner in the straight, Mendelssohn Bay surged past and continued to find to score comfortably in what is a prep for the Derby, contested over 1900 metres on the World Cup undercard Mar. 30. The winner’s stablemate Killer Collect (Collected), the selection of number one stable jockey Tadhg O’Shea, spotted his rivals a few lengths at the break and was forced to expend a fair bit of energy to be prominent when push came to shove. Wide into the lane, he fought on bravely to be second ahead of Quartier (Uru) (Matterhorn), who was exiting a runner-up effort to the well-regarded Ma Yetal (Flameaway) in the 2000 Guineas Trial last time over the 1400 metres. Mendelssohn Bay was a slow-starting fourth in the same event, having won his maiden going seven furlongs over this surface Nov. 24.

“The further we go the better for this horse,” said Cosgrave, for whom it was a first Meydan winner of the campaign. “He’s a bit immature mentally, he’s still learning, but when I asked him to quicken at the 300 [-metre marker] he put the race to bed quickly.”

Pedigree Notes:

Mendelssohn Bay is the eighth black-type winner and second graded winner for his sire. He is also the 21st stakes winner and eighth group/graded winner from a Curlin dam.

Joe and Debbie McCloskey‘s Cuyathy LLC purchased Reiki Baby for $8,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Sale, but didn’t make the races until the middle of her 4-year-old season. She made the most of limited opportunities, graduating at first asking and adding a pair of allowance seconds before retiring after four starts. The McCloskeys bought out their partners, Firsthome Thoroughbreds, for $40,000 at that year’s Keeneland November Sale.

The majority of the black-type in the family occurs in the third dam, which features the likes of champion Escena (Strawberry Road {Aus}).

Reiki Baby’s first foal, the 5-year-old Blame mare Lightheart, was unraced, while her second produce is the dual winner Reiquist (Nyquist). Behind Mendelssohn Bay is the juvenile filly Paprika Princess (Practical Joke) and with no foal reported for 2023, she is due to Omaha Beach this term.

Friday, Meydan, Dubai
UAE 2000 GUINEAS PRESENTED BY LONGINES-G3, AED700,000, Meydan, 1-26, 3yo, 8f, 1:38.13, ft.
1–MENDELSSOHN BAY, 121, g, 3, by Mendelssohn
               1st Dam: Reiki Baby, by Curlin
                2nd Dam: Renowned Cat, by Storm Cat
                3rd Dam: Claxton’s Slew, by Seattle Slew
1ST STAKES WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. ($125,000 Ylg ’22 KEESEP; $85,000 2yo ’23 FTMAY). O-Suited & Booted Racing Syndicate; B-Cuyathy, LLC (KY); T-Bhupat Seemar; J-Pat Cosgrave. AED420,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, AED534,000. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & five-cross pedigree.
2–Killer Collect, 121, c, 3, Collected–Comforter, by Nobiz Like Shobiz. 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK-TYPE. ($70,000 Ylg ’22 KEEJAN; $75,000 Ylg ’22 KEESEP). O-Michael Hilary Burke & Negar Burke; B-Romar Farm LLC & BRS (KY); T-Bhupat Seemar. AED140,000.
3–Quartier (Uru), 131, c, 3, Matterhorn–Stelatoa (Uru), by Alcorano (Brz). 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK-TYPE. O-Haras Bage Do Sul; B-Bage Do Sul (URU); T-Julio Olascoaga. AED70,000.
Margins: 3 3/4, SHD, 1HF.
Also Ran: Turjman, Oasis Boy (Arg), Military Artist, Rasas, Nezeeh (Ire). Click for the ERA chart and