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By Sam Turner Trainer Ed Crisford revealed a Group 2 assignment could await Swing Vote after witnessing his progressive gelding secure the first Group race victory of his career at Jebel Ali on Saturday. A smooth three-and-three-quarter length success in the Group 3 Jebel Ali Mile, one of the track’s feature events of the season, saw the son of Shamardal, racing in the colours of Rabbah Racing, complete a rapid course hat-trick which began shortly before the turn of the year.
In truth, this was arguably the easiest of Swing Vote’s three UAE wins, with rider William Buick and his willing ally barely pressed to quicken past the Salem bin Ghadayer-trained front-runner Down On Bayou (Jose Santiago) at the 200m marker. Qareeb stuck on gamely for third in the hands of Richard Mullen, while Tenbury Wells took fourth to give bin Ghadayer a 2-4. “He’s certainly improving,” enthused Crisford who trains Swing Vote alongside father Simon. “Today he had to prove it again and he really did.
William (Buick) felt he was all class. “He’s got the track experience over here and he looked very good when he won the trial last month. “We will now have to sit down and talk about what route we are going to go. You’ve got Super Saturday where there are two races he could run in — the Maktoum Challenge (1900m) or the Ras al Khor (1600m) or he could skip that and go straight to the Godolphin Mile (Group 2) on World Cup night. We’ll see how he is. He’s had three tough runs in the space of six weeks but its fantastic and he’s an exciting horse.
” Buick continued his fine recent run in the saddle and was grateful for the opportunity to ride the improving French recruit. “It was great to get on him,” said Buick. “It was a straightforward race and he’s a closer, so the race set up for him nicely today. He showed he’s far better than the opposition. “I think a strongly run mile is his sweet spot. It’s a stiff mile over here so you would probably imagine on a flat track he will probably get nine maybe ten furlongs. “He has won over ten (furlongs) in France, so we know he does stay. But I would say this season a mile is his optimum distance.”
