Mubtaahij ran several lengths below his best form in Saturday’s Gr1 Gold Cup over 2000m at Belmont, finishing fourth in a six horse field to Hoppertunity.

Mubtaahij was under pressure before the stretch and he faded out from the 400m mark while Bob Baffert’s five-year-old Hoppertunity forged to the lead late to secure a half-length victory in the $1 million contest. He was beaten 7,75-lengths.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of speed in the race other than Effinex. Everybody stayed sensible,” said Baffert assistant Jimmy Barnes. “The most important thing for ‘Hopper’ is that he was standing good and broke good and he was placed more forwardly in the race, especially on a slow pace, that’s probably why he was a little closer. We always thought in our minds that he would like these big turns here, and this big, deep track where he would have a chance to come from behind.”

Mubtaahij will return to Dubai following a US campaign that yielded a third in the Gr2 Suburban Handicap, a close second in the Gr1 Woodward and Saturday’s fourth place.

Meanwhile, More Than Ready filly Ektifaa (AUS) ran out a comfortable winner of a MR76 Handicap over 1450m at Turffontein on Saturday, two lengths clear under apprentice Callan Murray.

When the three-year-old won her Maiden two weeks ago, Mathew de Kock predicted that her confidence would make a difference going forward and Mike de Kock agreed on Sunday, saying: “She’s a progressive sort and she can step up from here.”

He added: “We’ll see what happens to her merit rating after this win, if it’s still within reason we’ll look for another handicap for her, but she looks good enough to compete at a higher level so there is also the Starling Stakes to consider on 5 November.”

Ektifaa was bred by Fairway Thoroughbreds, NSW, and races for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai.

Mikedekockracing.com