Soft Whisper routs rivals in Listed UAE 1,000 Guineas

Soft Whisper backed up the promise of her dirt debut with an utterly dominant victory in the mile Listed 1,000 UAE Guineas at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 28 January.

The Dubawi filly, an easy winner of the seven-furlong trial for the Classic on Thursday, 7 January, was smartly into her stride and led initially before racing in second on the outside of Heshmah.

After cruising up to lead on the bridle with three furlongs left, Soft Whisper settled the race in a matter of strides as she soon powered into an eight-length lead over her rivals. The Saeed bin Suroor-trained three-year-old continued to increase her advantage in the straight and was heavily eased by Frankie Dettori to come home seven lengths ahead of Mnasek.

Saeed bin Suroor said: “Soft Whisper is a very nice filly. She won by seven lengths but she could have won by further if she wanted. She came out of her trial win very well and this was a very good performance.

“We will keep the options open for her, whether we go for the UAE Oaks or the Saudi Derby as her next target.”

Frankie Dettori said: “Soft Whisper missed the kick last time but she jumped really well today. I was always in control and, when she kicked, I went. I didn’t have to do much. She has a bright future and Saeed mentioned everything afterwards – Saudi Arabia, the UAE Oaks, the UAE Derby.

“When they win so impressively, then you get excited and you have to think of big plans. She could have won double the amount she did today. I was just saying to Saeed that the last time I won a race this easily was Dubai Millennium in 2000. It took me 21 years to find another one to win so easily!

“We have big hopes for her. Maybe she didn’t beat the best in the world but, with the way she did it, you can only be impressed. If she runs in the UAE Oaks, she will be up against the same fillies more or less.

“Nothing has tested her today, so it would be wrong for me to say how good she is because she needs some better competition. At the moment, everything is in the right place.”