First Group Winner For Bayside Boy As Arapaho Gold Lands Gimcrack Spoils

Carole Dods and Doug Graham's Listed Rose Bowl Stakes winner Arapaho Gold (Bayside Boy) continued on a roll and took his record to a perfect four-from-four when becoming freshman sire Bayside Boy's first Group winner in Friday's G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes at York.

“Once he was out and running I was happy,” said Michael Dods, who saddled Mecca's Angel to two Nunthorpe victories at this venue. “At halfway he was looking for a bit of room, but once the room came he really quickened up. Connor [Beasley] said he gave him some feel the way he quickened away from them in the last 100 yards. He's a good horse, this was a big step up and he's taken everything in his stride. When we've wanted him to step up he has and he has stepped up again there. He's just some horse isn't he?”

Outling plans for the future, the trainer added, “He'll go to the [G2] Mill Reef [at Newbury] now, that will probably be it for the season and we'll see where we go next year. He's got the speed for six furlongs as you've just seen and I don't think you'll see any problems getting seven as he quickens up and he gallops. He's an exciting horse to have and it's brilliant that we've got him in the yard. We've had a lot of luck at York, but this is right up there with the two Mecca's Angel wins.”

The 2-1 second choice tanked along racing fourth under cover behind the leaders as Agamemnon (Mehmas) set a modest pace up top. Angling into an open lane with a quarter-mile remaining, he quickened smartly to launch his challenge approaching the final furlong and was driven out to defeat Final Objective (Sioux Nation) by 3/4-of-a-length.

The Adrian Keatley-trained G3 Molecomb third Hell Of A Spin (Naval Crown) fared best of the remainder and finished 2 1/4 lengths adrift in third, a neck ahead of the pacesetting Rose Bowl third Agamemnon. Ballydoyle's 13-8 favourite Marco Polo (Night Of Thunder) was unable to feature at the business end and finished eighth.

Wathnan Racing's Richard Brown reflected on the valiant effort of runner-up Final Objective and commented, “It was a massive run, it's one where you are delighted because the horse has run a huge race and a furlong out I thought he was coming to win. He hasn't been straightforward, Hamad [Al Jehani] has done a great job training this horse and that is a career best, so we'll keep him busy. He wandered about when he won at Thirsk last week and he has done again, so I think we'll pop a pair of cheekpieces on. There's a race in France, the [G3] Prix Eclipse, that we could look at, but we'll all have a sit down and see what might be best for him.”

Hell Of A Spin followed up a 66-1 third in the Molecomb with an 18-1 third here. “He's a hardy little horse who tries his heart out and he's running consistently well in these good races,” said trainer Adrian Keatley. “You'd like to think there's a nice one in him one of these days, I don't think the trip or ground were a concern for him, it was just the winner quickened away. He's been placed in a Molecomb and Gimcrack now and there could be a race in France towards the back-end for him [G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte]. We'll keep trying.”

Pedigree Notes
Arapaho Gold, a €42,000 Goffs Orby Book 2 half-brother to a yearling filly by Coulsty, is the third of four foals and one of two scorers produced by a winning full-sister to Listed Jagersro Sprint third Lost My Sock (Bungle Inthejungle).

His dam Call Of The Jungle (Bungle Inthejungle), who hails from the family of sires Zafonic and Zamindar, is also kin to Listed Gillies Fillies' Stakes victrix Company Asset (Fast Company) and to the dam of stakes-winning G3 Mercury Stakes third Funny Money Honey (Bungle Inthejungle).

Four from four!

Arapaho Gold (Bayside Boy) remains unbeaten in the £250,000 Group 2 @ABE_Dubai Gimcrack Stakes for @mdodsracing 🥇 @yorkracecourse pic.twitter.com/hQXWJfr8L6

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 21, 2026

Friday, York, Britain
AL BASTI EQUIWORLD DUBAI GIMCRACK STAKES-G2, £250,000, York, 8-21, 2yo, c/g, 6fT, 1:12.89, g/s.
1–ARAPAHO GOLD (IRE), 128, g, 2, by Bayside Boy (Ire)
                1st Dam: Call Of The Jungle (Ire), by Bungle Inthejungle (GB)
                2nd Dam: Changari, by Gulch
                3rd Dam: Danzari (GB), by Arazi
1ST GROUP WIN. (€42,000 Ylg '25 GOFORY). O-Doug Graham & Carole Dods; B-Newlands House Stud; T-Michael Dods; J-Connor Beasley. £141,775. Lifetime Record: 4-4-0-0, $242,884. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Final Objective (Ire), 128, g, 2, Sioux Nation–Sneaky Snooze (Ire), by Exceed And Excel (Aus). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€55,000 Ylg '25 TATIRY; £115,000 2yo '26 GOUKB). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Richie Galway & Justin Carthy; T-Hamad Al Jehani. £53,750.
3–Hell Of A Spin (Ire), 128, c, 2, Naval Crown (GB)–Shamankiyna (Fr), by Azamour (Ire). (€65,000 Ylg '25 TATIRY; €75,000 2yo '26 TATBRU). O-Phillipa Griffin & Partner; B-Corduff Stud; T-Adrian Keatley. £26,900.
Margins: 3/4, 2 1/4, NK. Odds: 2.00, 18.00, 18.00.
Also Ran: Agamemnon (GB), Adaay Of Scarlett (Ire), Mussab (GB), Matteo (Ire), Marco Polo (Ire), Never Enough (GB), Ronson (GB). Scratched: Great Oak (Ire), Mrair (Ire).