Quddwah aiming to break new ground in Abu Dhabi
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 3 Feb 2026
Simon and Ed Crisford are in the hunt for lucrative international honours this weekend, with star miler Quddwah going for glory in the inaugural running of the $1million Abu Dhabi Gold Cup on Saturday.
The turf event will be the most valuable ever run in Abu Dhabi and the multiple Group race-winning Quddwah looks to have outstanding form claims.
The six-year-old also has race-fitness on his side after landing the Zabeel Mile at Meydan last month, beating Charlie Appleby’s Aomori City, who is set to reoppose.
Other familiar names among the opposition include the Andrew Balding-trained Jonquil and Maljoom, who was a smart performer at his best when with William Haggas, while Ryan Moore will be aboard Comanche Brave for Donnacha O’Brien.
Ed Crisford, who trains in partnership with his father, said: “We’ve been very happy with him since his win in the Zabeel Mile at Meydan in early January. He’s been training super well into this Abu Dhabi race. I think it’s really great to be part of this new race with such great prize-money.
“It will be a high-quality field, but I think he deserves to be in the race, and he’ll go in with every chance. As I said, really happy with the horse, he’s progressing nicely, and I expect to see a big run from him.”
Meanwhile, the Crisfords will consider a step up in trip for fast-improving sprinter Cover Up to allow him to extend his fruitful winter in Dubai.
Having won the Dubai Dash for the second year in succession in December, the six-year-old took his game to another level to land the Group Two Blue Sprint last month in the hands of William Buick.
Cover Up has largely raced over five furlongs and as there are no more major races run over the minimum distance at this year’s Carnival, he will have to test the water over six if he is to run again before returning to Britain, which therefore brings the Group One Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night into view.
Crisford said: “We were delighted with him the other day, it was a career-best performance and he’s really done well out here this year.
“He obviously likes Dubai and he’s just a bigger, stronger, older horse this year who is doing well in his training and he likes the Meydan track.
“There are no more five-furlong races, we might try our hand at six again, but there are no real decisions made as to where he goes.”
On the same Meydan card the Crisfords saddled Meydaan and West Wind Blows to finish third and fourth respectively in the Group Three Al Khail Trophy, with David Menuisier’s Sunway and the David O’Meara-trained Epic Poet the two ahead of them.
“West Wind Blows maybe didn’t quite stay the mile and three-quarters, but he ran a nice race and it’s nice to get him back into a rhythm having been off for a while before he came back,” Crisford added.
“The way the race unfolded didn’t really suit the horses too far back. Silvestre (de Sousa) rode a super race from the front on the winner, Meydaan and Epic Poet were quite far back and by the time we got into the race was sort of over.
“Meydaan ran a good race, he’s a really solid horse. There are no firm plans, we could just head to Super Saturday and see where we go from there.”
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