2019 Belmont Gold Cup international scouting reports: Raa Atoll, Mootasadir, Amade

The European shippers tackling Friday’s $400,000 Belmont Gold Cup Invitational (G2) all have potential along with question marks. Two are known for prowess on synthetic – Mootasadir and Amade – and the one with proper turf form, Raa Atoll, just scored a surprising career high off a layoff.

RAA ATOLL

Raa Atoll’s profile as a late developer with plenty of stamina fits his pedigree. His sire, the all-time great Sea the Stars, is responsible for reigning European champion stayer Stradivarius (the one to beat in his Ascot Gold Cup [G1] title defense) as well as such classic winners as Sea of Class, Taghrooda, Sea the Moon, and Harzand. His dam, the winning Meetyouthere, reinforces the picture as a daughter of Sadler’s Wells and Infamy. The 1988 Rothmans International (G1) heroine, Infamy produced four stakes winners including Group/Grade 2 scorers Moon Queen (a full sister to Meetyouthere) and Innuendo. Both were successful broodmares themselves, Innuendo notably producing multiple Grade 2 vixen Criticism. This is also the deep family of 1990 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) hero In the Wings and 1998 Derby (G1) winner High-Rise. By the time Raa Atoll was offered as a weanling at Tattersalls December, his half-sister, Moderah, had just placed third in the 2015 St Simon (G3) at Newbury. With a page like that, the foal commanded 200,000 guineas ($315,756) from China Horse Club. Unraced at two, Raa Atoll made his debut last April in a 1 1/4-mile event at Newmarket for John Gosden. The stable vibe was cool enough because he went off at 20-1, but he exceeded expectations in second. Green early in the rear, he stayed on relentlessly, passed favored stablemate Argentello, and chased home Godolphin’s Nordic Lights. Raa Atoll was odds-on next time at Nottingham, where adopted a new running style, tracking the leader and forging clear. He took another step forward winning over nearly 1 1/2 miles at Leicester. It was a carbon copy trip, except that he had a challenger in the stretch and re-broke to win handsomely. Ready for a class test in the King Edward VII (G2) at Royal Ascot, Raa Atoll ranked as the 7-2 second choice, bettors backing Aidan O’Brien’s Delano Roosevelt coming off a sixth in the Derby. Since Raa Atoll was drawn on the rail, Frankie Dettori made use of his tactical speed to set the steady pace. Godolphin’s Old Persian was glued to his flank, though, and subdued him in the stretch. To his credit, Raa Atoll stuck on once passed, and altered course to try to come again before settling for fourth. He was edged by couple of useful O’Brien runners in Rostropovich (the future Irish Derby [G1] runner-up and Melbourne Cup [G1] fifth) and Giuseppe Garibaldi. The victorious Old Persian went on to supply the most significant form updates, capturing the Great Voltigeur (G2) over Cross Counter and Kew Gardens and adding this year’s Dubai City of Gold (G2) and Sheema Classic (G1) on World Cup night.

Raa Atoll’s respectable effort at Royal Ascot propelled him to the Princess of Wales’s (G2) at Newmarket’s July Festival. Although lining up against older horses, he was the close second choice at 11-4, with Mirage Dancer the 2-1 favorite. Unfortunately, something was amiss because he dropped back abruptly, eased, and never raced again the rest of the season – or for connections. Sent back through the Tattersalls ring for the Autumn Horses in Training Sale, Raa Atoll sold for just 30,000 guineas ($40,103) to wealthy property developer-cum-trainer Luke Comer. That didn’t exactly suggest he was on the verge of a renaissance, considering the rarity of winners from Comer’s County Meath yard. Raa Atoll was accordingly a 32-1 longshot when resurfacing in the May 12 Oleander-Rennen (G2), joined by his 34-1 stablemate (and O’Brien castoff) Zabriskie. It looked for all the world like Comer wanted to have runners in the Hoppegarten feature sponsored by his firm, Comer Group International. Not only was Raa Atoll resuming from a lengthy layoff, but he was untested beyond 1 1/2 miles, and now he was trying two miles and foreign travel. All of those reasonable concerns amounted to nothing as Raa Atoll upset Thomas Hobson, the Doncaster Cup (G2) winner and 1-2 favorite. A fellow Irish shipper trained by the prolific Willie Mullins, Thomas Hobson was previously seen finishing second to Stradivarius in last October’s British Champions Long Distance Cup (G2). That’s a serious piece of collateral form for Raa Atoll, if you can take it literally. Attending the pace, Raa Atoll kicked on too strongly for Thomas Hobson to catch and handed Comer by far his biggest win.