Heart of Honor, Opera Ballo, Imperial Emperor Shine

Heart of Honor (GB) made his case for a shot at the biggest dirt races of the early season, Opera Ballo (IRE) made a case as Godolphin's top middle-distance turf runner, and Imperial Emperor (IRE) reigned in the Al Maktoum Mile (G2) on Festive Friday Dec. 19 at Meydan Racecourse. Heart of Honor, second just a nose in the UAE Derby (G2) last season and then fifth in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and sixth in the Belmont Stakes (G1) continued his progression into the top ranks with a lightning-quick move to the front and a 1 1/2-length victory in the Entisar on the Meydan dirt. Artorius was second and Walk of Stars (GB) third. With Saffie Osborne up for trainer Jamie Osborne, Heart of Honor, a 3-year-old by Honor A. P., improved to 2-for-2 in the Carnival. "Today was a big ask for him and he's shown what a quality horse he is," Saffie Osborne said. "Now we can get excited." Heart of Honor posted three straight second-place finishes at Meydan last season before his owners opted to bypass the Kentucky Derby (G1) in favor of the Preakness. He went on from that to the Belmont and was put away for the rest of the year, then gelded with an eye toward developing him toward the 2026 Saudi Cup (G1) and Dubai World Cup (G1). Opera Ballo Victorious in Al Rashidiya Godolphin fielded the only three who mattered in the Al Rashidiya (G2T) at 1,800 meters on the turf and Opera Ballo proved best of the best. The tip was William Buick's decision to take the mount on the 3-year-old Ghaiyyath (IRE) colt, eschewing stablemates Nations Pride (IRE) and First Conquest (GB). After waiting behind horses, Nations Pride took the lead early in the straight but then quickly gave way to Opera Ballo, who ran on without much encouragement to win by 3 lengths. First Conquest was third. "We were keen tonight for William to get him in behind horses and get him to settle," said Charlie Appleby, who trains all three for Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Godolphin. "We saw the Opera Ballo we always hoped to see." Appleby said the goal now is one more test to see if the colt is good enough for World Cup night. Asked his opinion on that topic, Buick said, "Absolutely. We always thought he was a horse worthy of going to the top at some point." Seemar Trainees Dominate Al Maktoum Mile Imperial Emperor, the favorite, had all he could do to hold safe stablemate Commissioner King in the final 100 meters of the Al Maktoum Mile on the Meydan dirt. He finally prevailed by 1 1/2 lengths over that rival with Mendelssohn Bay third. All three are trained by Bhupat Seemar, who had eight of the 13 starters in the race. Imperial Emperor won last year's Al Maktoum Classic (G2) going 1 1/4 miles but finished 11th in the Dubai World Cup, leaving Seemar on the horns of a dilemma. "Coming back to a mile, I'm glad we did that because we hadn't tightened all the bolts," the trainer said. "He's obviously very talented at a mile. But he's good at a mile and a quarter, too." Winning rider Tadhg O'Shea had a more direct opinion. "I think he's a nicer ride going farther," O'Shea said. "He's a lazy miler." Cover Up (IRE), with Buick up for Simon and Ed Crisford, won the listed Ertijaal Dash at 1,000 meters (about 5 furlongs) on the turf for the second straight year. The Exceed And Excel gelding had won only once in eight intervening starts.