River Rises To The Occasion

Polar River | DRC/Andrew Watkins

'TDN Rising Star' Polar River (Congrats) extended her unbeaten record to three while making a mockery of her overmatched rivals in Thursday's Listed UAE 1000 Guineas at Meydan. The bay sat third under Pat Dobbs down the backstretch, about two lengths off the lead, with Godolphin's G2 Rockfel S. winner Promising Run (Hard Spun) one spot ahead. While the rest of his weigh room colleagues began to scrub their mounts passing the quarter pole, Dobbs was locked and loaded aboard Polar River, who drew clear under her motionless rider in the stretch to win by 13 untroubled lengths. Promising Run stuck on to be second, with Kabaw (Ire) (Elusive Pimpernel) checking in third. Trainer Doug Watson, an American expatriate and former assistant to Kiaran McLaughlin in the UAE, entertained the idea of sending his stable star to America later in the year.

“The owners have been very good to me and I think to be good to the filly, if she keeps progressing, it would only be fair to take her over there and give her a chance to further her career,” Watson said. “She was very impressive,” he added. “[Dobbs] said she was a little green and he said he gave her a bit of a squeeze and she just picked it up. She has some turn of foot and is a really nice filly. The [G3 UAE] Oaks [Mar. 3] is the next step, and if she wins that I'm sure we'd take an invitation to the [G2 UAE] Derby [Mar. 26].”

Watson unveiled Polar River in a 1200 metre Meydan maiden race Dec. 3, which she won by 13 1/2 lengths and earned 'TDN Rising Star' status. She returned Jan. 14 to best Promising Run by 4 3/4 lengths in the 1400 metre UAE 1000 Guineas trial over the same track, and was making her stakes debut Thursday.

Polar River's dam, Bayou Tortuga, has a 2-year-old Flatter filly named Oh Flatter Me who was a $100,000 Keeneland September yearling last year. She has a yearling colt by The Factor that was bought for $200,000 as a weanling last year at Keeneland November and she is due to foal to Twirling Candy this year.

UAE 1000 GUINEAS SPONSORED BY FRIDAY-Listed, $250,000, MEY, 2-11, NH3yo & SH3yo, f, 1600m, 1:37.09, ft.
1–POLAR RIVER, 126, f, 3, by Congrats
1st Dam: Bayou Tortuga, by Empire Maker
2nd Dam: Tortuga Band, by Dixieland Band
3rd Dam: Super Fan, by Lear Fan
($25,000 yrl '14 KEESEP; $40,000 2yo '15 OBSAPR) O-Valentin Bukhtoyarov & Evgeny Kappushev; B-Bob McCann, Mark Kelder & Doug Richards (KY); T-Doug Watson; J-Pat Dobbs. $150,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $215,423.[bullet ad=”crestwood-foaledraisedsold”] 2–Promising Run, 126, f, 3, Hard Spun">Hard Spun–Aviacion (Brz), by Know Heights (Ire). O-Godolphin. $50,000.
3–Kabaw (Ire), 126, f, 3, Elusive Pimpernel–Holly Hawk (Ire), by Dubai Destination. (€32,000 2yo '15 GORMAY) O-A Aboushkiwat Family. $25,000.
Margins: 13, 2HF, 1.
Also Ran: Dubai Fashion (Ire), Dolly Dagger (Swe).
Click for the Racing Post result. VIDEO.

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