In 2018, multiple Grade 1-winning American trainer Dallas Stewart made his first visit to Dubai with bright eyes and no lack of confidence.
That was thanks to Forever Unbridled, a Charles Fipke homebred champion mare who was riding high on a Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff victory and appeared to be one of the horses to beat in the Dubai World Cup.
Subsequent happenings did not go to plan for the late-running mare, as the pace scenario and wide trip worked against her, but she still closed determinedly to be fifth behind a loose-on-the-lead Thunder Snow, champion West Coast and Grade 1 winners Mubtaahij and Pavel.
SEEKING THE SOUL winning the Grade 1 Clark Handicap (Dubai Racing Club|Mathea Kelley)
One year later, Stewart is planning to head back with another serious Dubai World Cup candidate in Grade 1 winner Seeking the Soul.
Wearing the same white, blue and yellow silks, the Fipke homebred exits a hard-charging second (behind City of Light) after substantial traffic issues in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational last Saturday, an effort that justified the long-standing faith his connections have had in the son of Perfect Soul.
“He really ran terrific and he did it against the best,” Stewart said. “He fought on great and (jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) did a great job of getting him out of trouble that cost him a few lengths on the turn. I’m very proud of him. He’s really on his game right now. As long as he’s doing well, he has a big chance in Dubai.”
Seeking the Soul has been a work in progress, but it has been evident since the beginning that Stewart believed him worthy of the big stage. The great-grandson of undefeated legend Personal Ensign ran in the 2016 Belmont Stakes in just his fourth lifetime start and first after breaking his maiden.
In typical Stewart style, he processed the defeat as a sign to take things patiently with the highly regarded charge, gaining his confidence with 11 runs over the next 16 months, including a slew of allowance races and a pair of Grade 3 placings.
In the final of those 11, he woke up in a big way, setting a 1700m track record at Keeneland with a blistering time of 1:41.36. One race later, he validated the effort by winning his first graded stakes in the Grade 1 Clarke Handicap over 1800m. Left in his wake that day were Grade 1 winners Hoppertunity and Diversify, as well as multiple Grade 2 winner Good Samaritan.
Seeking the Soul would go on to finish fifth in the 2018 Pegasus behind Gun Runner, commencing a season that ultimately revealed him to be a genuine Grade 1 horse. Said efforts included a second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile behind City of Light, third in a defence attempt of the Clark Handicap and decisive win the Ack Ack Stakes (G3). His only black mark was a dull effort in Saratoga’s Woodward in early September.
“He’s a really tough horse who enjoys his job,” Stewart said. “He seems to be at his peak right now and has improved with age. I still don’t know what happened in the Woodward. Maybe he was sick or something, but we got him back to Louisville and he won the Ack Ack and were using that as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup. We actually really wanted to run him in the (Breeders’ Cup) Classic, but somehow he wound up number 15 for qualifying points (only 14 horses able to run). That left a bad taste in our mouths, to be honest, because he was ready to run. Then, in the Dirt Mile, he had traffic trouble and ran into a world-beater in City of Light.”
This time around, Stewart is even more enthused to take on the challenge of Dubai after his dry run with Forever Unbridled. A winner of 6-of-24, Seeking the Soul has placed in 18 of his career starts and seems to reflect the same tenacity for which Stewart has long been known and respected.
“I feel like the second time around is even a little more exciting and I know Chuck (Fipke) is excited to come, too,” he said. “We won’t do things too differently. They do a great job of getting you there and giving you enough time to train your horse and they take really good care of you and the whole crew.
“In the meantime, we’ll get him back to New Orleans to train at the Fair Grounds,” Stewart concluded. “I wouldn’t expect to train as hard for this race as the last race because he’s very fit. We will marginalise his works and keep him in top form.”
