Military March strides on in G3 Dubai Autumn Stakes

Unbeaten two-year-old Military March joined a notable roll of honour as he gamely beat Al Suhail in the mile G3 Dubai Autumn Stakes at Newmarket, UK, on Saturday, 12 October.

Military March, stepping up to Pattern company for Saeed bin Suroor following a debut success on Newmarket’s July Course in July, broke well and disputed the early running before establishing a narrow advantage after a furlong.

He kicked on under Oisin Murphy approaching the two-furlong pole and was joined by the Charlie Appleby-trained Al Suhail soon afterwards as the duo soon quickened clear of their six rivals.

Al Suhail laid down a sustained challenge under William Buick inside the final furlong but New Approach colt Military March rallied and found more near the line to prevail by half a length in 1m 40.47s on soft ground. Ropey Guest took third, a full seven lengths in arrears.

Military March will be hoping to emulate the three most recent winners of the Dubai Autumn Stakes – Best Solution (2016), Ghaiyyath (2017) and Persian King (2018) – who all graduated to G1 honours for Godolphin.

Saeed bin Suroor said: “Military March has been doing well since he won nicely on the July Course and I have always liked him. He is a big, strong horse who looks like he handles any type of ground - it was soft today and he coped with it well. He always tries in the mornings and we have been very happy with his progress.

“We will give him a break and take him back to Dubai. Then we will talk to Sheikh Mohammed but I hope that he can run in G1 races next year.”

Oisin Murphy said: “Military March is a lovely horse, a beautiful specimen. He relaxed beautifully in front and is a horse that is going to stay 10 furlongs well. He is probably one that we should be keeping an eye out for. He is beautiful to ride and it’s brilliant to get another big winner for Saeed bin Suroor.”