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Kimbear wills himself to Burj Nahaar S. (G3) victory

March 11, 2018

Kimbear’s prospects of winning the $200,000 Burj Nahaar S. (G3) looked grim at the top of the stretch, but the 4-year-old Temple City colt rallied back after giving up the lead to score by a length and a quarter on the 1,600 meter (about 1 mile) contest.

The victory sets Kimbear up for a run in the $1 million Godolphin Mile (G2) on the March 31 Dubai World Cup card.

The Burj Nahaar was thrilling from the start. Kimbear, in post 1, broke very quickly and was head-to-head with Heavy Metal (GB) for the first five furlongs. Nearing the stretch, Heavy Metal went to the lead and soon was more than a length in front. Kimbear was not done, however, and after switching from inside to out, came running once again to wear down his foe in deep stretch in an incredibly gritty performance.

“We were fortunate with the draw tonight; Pat (jockey Pat Dobbs) gave him a great ride and you don’t see many horses get passed and come back,” said winning trainer Doug Watson. “He’s improving- we thought he was this good anyway.”

Kimbear began his career in California, where he ran second in the Laz Barrera S. (G3) last year, then was sold to his current connections last autumn. Based in Dubai, he has put up two wins and two seconds over the Meydan main track at the current meet and has won $360,051 overall.

In addition to being a top-10 Cumulative Fourth-Crop Sire, Temple City has been one of the most popular stallions of the past three years, breeding over 550 mares in from 2015 through 2017. He’ll be represented by seven lots in this week’s March 13-14 OBS Two-year-olds in Training Sale.