Dead-heat drama as Lord North and Panthalassa share Dubai Turf spoils

Meydan: Saturday

Not even a pixel could separate Lord North and Panthalassa as the Group 1 Dubai Turf was shared after the stewards pored over a photograph for what was an agonising amount of time.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Lord North strolled to a three-length success in the race last season but needed to fight with every sinew as Frankie Dettori delivered one late surge on the 7-2 chance to join long-time leader Panthalassa on the line, while a second Japanese challenger, Vin De Garde, bore down on the pair.

It took five minutes to whittle the choice down to two and the same again before a dead-heat was announced between Lord North and Yoshito Yahagi's game front-runner Panthalassa with the £2,222,222 prize split down the middle.

Lord North spent almost a year off the track with a throat infection and, after posting a hugely encouraging comeback when finishing second in the Winter Derby at Lingfield, returned to his best form at Meydan.

John Gosden said: "It's a very fair result. We did get ourselves in a Japanese sandwich there. Those [Japanese] horses are so tough. They knocked us for six in Saudi Arabia and they've come here and won four races now.

John Gosden: 'we were thrilled with his effort'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

“I'm thrilled with our boy. He's been off for a year with a very nasty throat infection and we managed to get him back just in time. We gave him a prep in the Winter Derby Trial and we were thrilled with his effort.”

His son and co-trainer Thady was asked if the plan would be for Lord North to attempt to win back his Prince Of Wales's Stakes title at Royal Ascot.

"Most likely he’ll head over there; it’s a race he’s won before," he said. "We hope he gets back from this okay."

Yahagi, sharing his third prize on the night after victories in the Dubai Gold Cup with Stay Foolish and Godolphin Mile (Bathrat Leon), liked that idea for his improving five-year-old.

"If Lord North goes to the Prince of Wales’s, I want to go too," he said.

"He usually goes hard from the front and I thought he’d go from a little bit further out but he saved some for the finish. I’ve already had a lot of luck today, so I didn’t think we’d lose.

"This was his first time on firm ground. In the past he’s preferred softer ground, so taking him over to Europe would certainly be high on the agenda."

'Frankie said if he got the split, he wins'

Shahryar landed a fifth victory on a magnificent night for Japanese-trained horses in Meydan in the Dubai Sheema Classic, although those closest to Yibir and Pyledriver were ruing their luck.

Authority, also trained in Japan, set a muddling pace with Pyledriver tucked in behind and Yibir anchored at the back of the field.

The race looked to be opening up for Pyledriver and Frankie Dettori as the runners entered the last two furlongs, but he became trapped behind Authority and Shahryar, losing his momentum at a key point.

Shahryar beats Yibir (dark blue) with Pyledriver (green) fourth in the Sheema ClassicCredit: Edward Whitaker

Yibir, meanwhile, was making up ground rapidly on the outside as the pace quickened, but the line came just too soon.

Shahryar held on to take the prize for trainer Hideaki Fujiwara and jockey Cristian Demuro, with Yibir second, Authority third and Pyledriver fourth.

Charlie Appleby had no issue with William Buick replicating the hold-up tactics which paid off so sweetly in the Breeders' Cup Turf.

"As we've seen, that's sort of unfortunately his run style but he is learning, so hopefully in time we'll be able to ride a bit more of a race on him but, as William said, to give a Japanese Derby winner a ten-length head-start takes a bit of doing," Appleby said.

"But we saw his class the way he's finished and most likely we'll head to Belmont for the Man O'War Stakes in May."

Trainer William Muir had endured a frustrating watch with a furlong to run before Pyledriver came with a renewed effort and was beaten a length. There is now a decision to make about defending the Coronation Cup or a later-season campaign.

"Frankie said if he got the split, he wins," the trainer said. "He had to take him out of his stride, break his momentum and switch him wide. He also said he hoped they'd gone a bit harder up front."

Both trainers will be interested to learn what Fujiwara has in mind for Shahryar, who is a four-year-old having only his seventh start and has already been third in a Japan Cup.

"He's a Japanese Derby winner and a Deep Impact colt, so we would like to go for big international races," the trainer said. "There's the Breeders' Cup, the Arc and the Japan Cup, so maybe one or two of those."

Read more from Meydan:

Country Grammer gives Frankie Dettori his fourth Dubai World Cup

'You probably think we're mad' - A Case Of You sends connections wild again

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