Godolphin Promise

Emirates Flyer did best of the five Godolphin horses racing during the first fixture of the 2016 Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, January 7.

The five-year-old, trained by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by James Doyle, finished a good second to One Man Band in the Longines Conquest Classic Ladies Handicap over nine and a half furlongs on dirt.

The winner, successful by a length and a half, set a new track record time of 1m 57.85s which also reflected well on Emirates Flyer who chased the all-the-way scorer from start to finish and kept on well on his first outing since February 28 last year.

Another Godolphin runner in the race, Artigiano (Charlie Appleby/William Buick), also performed with credit in fourth, beaten a total of two and three quarter lengths.

The six-year-old, also having his first start since February 2015, was fast away and raced a bit keenly when a close third of the nine runners on the inner. He was then fourth before improving to third again at the start of the straight.

Artigiano, who will appreciate a longer trip, ran out of puff in the closing stages and just lost third place.