Super Saturday for Frankel and Kingman at Meydan

Super Saturday was dominated by the Crisfords as they swept all before them, with the success of the suitably-named Meydaan (Frankel) in the Group 2 Al Maktoum Classic and a victory for stablemate Quddwah (Kingman) in the Group 2 Singspiel Stakes.

Taken from the Thoroughbred Daily News, 1st March 2026, by Adam Houghton:

Meydaan ran out an easy winner of the day's most valuable contest, the Gr.2 Al Maktoum Classic. It was a first Group-race success for the son of Frankel following a number of placed efforts, including when third in last month's Gr.3 Al Khail Trophy over 2,800 metres of the Meydan turf. On Saturday, the five-year-old faced a very different challenge, dropping fully 800 metres in distance and making a belated debut on dirt, with the result being a career-best effort in the hands of William Buick. Benefiting from a charmed run against the rail as the field turned for home, he then picked up in style when seeing daylight with two furlongs to run, quickly getting to the girths of Walk Of Stars before powering clear to register an emphatic win by 5 and a quarter. Tap Leader was third, another three-quarters of a length behind the runner-up.

"It was a brilliant move and it's really paid off," said Buick. "I thought they were very brave running in this race, but look what he did. We were worried about him jumping slow on the inside, and he did, but they didn't go quick and he was never taken off his feet. He just came alive half-a-mile out and I was pretty impressed with what he did. He's proven he handles the track and you couldn't have asked for more from a trial [for the Dubai World Cup]."

As well as it being a landmark day for the Crisfords, the first two legs of their treble, initiated by Quddwah in the Gr.2 Singspiel Stakes, will have been particularly sweet for Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, with both winners being out of Group 1-winning mares who also ran in the familiar yellow and black silks of their owner-breeder.

Meydaan is out of the Pretty Polly Stakes scorer Nezwaah (Dubawi), while Quddwah's dam, Sajjhaa (King's Best), registered four consecutive victories at Meydan in the first part of 2013, notably winning the Jebel Hatta and Dubai Turf at the top level.

The Dubai Turf is now likely to be next on the agenda for Quddwah following his runaway success in the Singspiel Stakes, by two and a half lengths from Dividend. It was a third victory at Group 2 level for the winner who was previously successful in the 2024 Summer Mile Stakes and the Zabeel Mile at Meydan last month.

"There was no pace early," said Ed Crisford. "Ryan [Moore] had him in completely the right position, kicked for home coming off the bend, and he won really well. We'll see how he is, but the Dubai Turf will be the plan as he saw out the extra furlong well."