Winter Lightning prevails in thrilling UAE 1000 Guineas Trial

Winter Lightning bravely edged out Rayya in a pulsating finish to the UAE 1000 Guineas Trial over seven furlongs at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 18 January. 

The Saeed bin Suroor-trained Shamardal filly, switching to dirt for her three-year-old return after finishing second on turf in a Newmarket, UK, maiden in October, broke smartly and led the 14 runners early on before tacking over from stall seven to race in third after the first quarter-mile. 

Winter Lightning, partnered by Pat Cosgrave, went second with two furlongs left and continued to make good headway in the straight, joining Rayya with half a furlong to race and took a narrow lead.

Rayya rallied but the Godolphin filly inexorably wore down the leader again, just getting up as they flashed past the post together.

Winter Lightning prevailed by a nose in 1m 24.45s and finished 10 lengths clear of Expressiy (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) in third. 

Saeed bin Suroor said: “Pat Cosgrave rides Winter Lightning in the mornings and was very keen to ride her tonight, which gave us confidence because he knows the filly very well. 

“We told him to ride Winter Lightning handily – we know the more he asks of her, the more she will respond. She is very tough and a nice filly for the future. 

“We have always thought that Winter Lightning was very good. She had some problems early on, so we gave her five months off, and she is improving all the time now.

“She is a half-sister to Thunder Snow and they are both relaxed horses – nothing worries them and they both work very professionally. 

“Winter Lightning was a bit light when she ran at Newmarket but she has improved physically as a three-year-old. 

“She looked very good tonight and we will talk to Sheikh Mohammed, but her next target could be the UAE 1000 Guineas (Listed, 1m, 8 February, Meydan).”

Pat Cosgrave added: “I wanted to put the race to bed pretty quickly but this was only Winter Lightning’s second start and the runner-up has toughed it out as well – they are probably two nice fillies. 

“Winter Lightning has been working really well at home and she will improve for this outing. 

“Her temperament was very relaxed tonight and I was a little bit worried that she might be too switched off. 

“The way she jumped and travelled was very professional and I probably got there too soon – she surprised me with how well she quickened up. She toughed it out well and thankfully we came out on top.”