Australian bred mare Mahbooba maintained Mike De Kock’s excellent run in the G2 Balanchine Stakes at Meydan on Friday.

Mahbooba (5m Galileo – Sogha by Red Ransom) opened her latest Gulf campaign on winning note in the Al Rashidiya Trial (1800m) last month.  She just failed behind First City (Diktat) when dropping back to 1600m in the G2 Cape Verdi a fortnight later but turned the tables when stepping up to 1800m on Friday.

Mahbooba gave De Kock his fifth Balanchine Stakes victory since the race was introduced in 2004.  “She won well first time but things transpired against her in the Cape Verdi when we knew the trip was on the short side,” the South African conditioner explained.  “She won over a lot further in England and she needed the extra furlong to grind down First City.

“The Sheema Classic will be the race we look at for her on World Cup night so the City Of Gold on Super Saturday is likely to be the next target.”

Mahbooba was a Listed winner of last year’s UAE 1000 Guineas and she stayed in training for a six length victory in the LR Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket in September.

She is a homebred for Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa and is from the last Australian-bred crop of Coolmore champion Galileo.  Her dam Sogha was covered by Dylan Thomas in 2008 and was exported to Argentina in March 2009.

Mahbooba was originally exported to South Africa where she won the G2 Debutante Stakes and G1 Golden Slipper in 2010.