The Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) may have garnered a possible candidate for its first running over the all-weather Tapeta surface as trainer Eddie Kenneally reported on Saturday after his Custom For Carlos took the Mr. Prospector (G3) at a rainy Gulfstream Park. Kenneally took the 2007 Dubai Golden Shaheen with Kelly’s Landing, who had also won the Mr. Prospector in advance of a meeting in the desert. A 4-year-old by More Than Ready, Custom For Carlos holds a lifetime record of five wins from 11 starts and earnings in excess of $350,000.
Ridden by Eclipse Award finalist Julien Leparoux, Custom For Carlos settled off the lead of Darley’s Past The Point and moved well in hand to the lead and drew off for a measured victory over that rival in a field of five whittled down with four scratches.
The $2,000,000 purse of the race demands Kenneally look at the Golden Shaheen as an option, but one potential hitch is the Tapeta. Despite winning over four different courses, Custom For Carlos has yet to touch an all-weather surface. Then again, that might not be much of an issue considering Kenneally reported following Saturday’s win that his charge had never been on a wet track.