Walton Street dominates in Listed Dubai Racing Club Classic

Classy middle-distance performer Walton Street lowered the 12-furlong turf course record at Meydan, UAE, with a commanding all-the-way success in the Listed Dubai Racing Club Classic on week one of the Dubai World Cup Carnival, Thursday, 21 January.

The Charlie Appleby-trained seven-year-old, a Newmarket Listed winner over the same trip on his previous appearance in September, broke smartly and was immediately sent to the front of the 14 runners by William Buick.

Walton Street continued to dictate and never looked in danger as he powered clear in the straight before being eased near the line for a five-length victory over Dubai Future.

His winning time of 2m 26.83s narrowly eclipsed the previous record set by multiple G1 victor Hawkbill in the 2018 G2 Dubai City Of Gold.

Charlie Appleby said: “Walton Street looked fantastic beforehand, the best I have ever seen him, and his homework had been backing that up as well. William has sat on him over the last 10 days and he was always going to be his pick.

“You could see that he was fresh for the first half-mile and it wasn’t an uncontested lead but, once he got into a rhythm coming out of the home turn, it was just a matter of picking him up. He did it well.

“I think he deserves a crack at the G2 Dubai City Of Gold. He wouldn’t be the classiest horse in that race but he brings guts and plenty of experience to the table. I think we will probably freshen him up and give him one shot at that rather than chipping away for the rest of the Carnival. He runs well fresh and it is a condensed Carnival, so we will head straight there.”

William Buick added: “It was a really good performance from Walton Street. He has had a bit of a break but was really dominant when he won at Newmarket in a competitive Listed race.

I have always thought that he has plenty on his plate in these handicaps as he carries a lot of weight but he is lightly raced for his age and really felt like he had a lot of zest there.

“He looks amazing and is a very good looking horse. He seemed to enjoy himself in front – I was just worried at a couple of stages when I felt we might be doing slightly too much but he was in his comfort zone and finished off well. The track is riding fast but it was still a good performance.”