Supersire Dubawi reaches landmark 100th stakes winner in famous Godolphin blue

Dubawi reached a new milestone when Space Blues provided him with his 100th stakes win in the Godolphin blue.

The landmark triumph came in the Listed Surrey Stakes at Epsom on Friday, when the Charlie Appleby-trained three-year-old got the better of Urban Icon by a neck.Dubawi was perhaps destined to be special, with his dam Zomaradah one of an elite group of mares to visit Sheikh Mohammed's favourite - and arguably best - horse Dubai Millennium when he retired to Dalham Hall Stud after a glittering career.

Dubai Millennium's crowning glory on the track came in the world's richest race, the 2000 Dubai World Cup, for which he was effectively renamed to win, fulfilling his destiny in the sensationally quick time of 1:59.50. That is still the race record, and it came despite Dubai Millennium coasting the last furlong as he won by eight lengths.

Dubai Millennium and Frankie Dettori land the Dubai World CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

After Dubai Millennium’s tragic death due to grass sickness during his first season at stud, that crop of unborn foals became infinitely more precious.

Dubawi, thankfully, proved himself a capable heir on the racecourse. Unbeaten at two, he won the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket before landing the Group 1 National Stakes at the Curragh.

He was then crowned champion three-year-old having taken the Irish 2,000 Guineas, and emulated his great sire with victory in the Prix Jacques le Marois.

However, unlike with Dubai Millennium, who cruelly never got the chance, it has been as a sire that Dubawi has really made his mark, and his influence over the success of Godolphin in recent years has been significant, hardly less so, relatively, than Galileo's for Coolmore.

Sand Vixen was his first stakes winner for Godolphin, in the 2009 St Hugh’s Stakes. She went on to become his first Group winner with a convincing victory in the Group 2 Flying Childers.

The very next day, Poet’s Voice recorded the first of his Group wins in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster. He would go on to land the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in a thrilling finish. He become a Group 1-winning sire himself.

Since then, Dubawi has been responsible for no fewer than 20 of Godolphin’s top-flight wins, which have come over the world.

Monterosso emulated his grandsire Dubai Millennium by winning the Dubai World Cup in 2012Credit: Edward Whitaker

Two of his sons, Monterosso and Prince Bishop, followed in the footsteps of their grandsire when landing the Dubai World Cup, in 2012 and 2015, while Benbatl, Hunter’s Light and Wild Illusion have been his most prolific top-level winners in the famous blue silks, notching up three wins at the highest level each in Australia, the UAE, France, Germany, Italy and the UK.

Hunter’s Light is now standing at stud as a Darley stallion and, together with Dubawi’s 2,000 Guineas winner Night Of Thunder, will have his own runners hit the racecourse this year.

Wild Illusion is one of four daughters of Dubawi to win at the highest level, together with Sobetsu, Wuheida and, more recently, Kitesurf.

Old Persian becomes a 2019 Group 1 winner for Dubawi in the Sheema ClassicCredit: Edward Whitaker

So far in 2019, the Godolphin colours have been carried to victory by Dubawi’s progeny in eight stakes races, notably the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic (Old Persian), the Group 2 Prix d’Harcourt (Ghaiyyath), the Group 2 Balanchine Stakes (Poetic Charm) and the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort (D’Bai).

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