Rocket Man takes Golden Shaheen

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 26 (UPI) -- Singapore-based Rocket Man rallied past Euroears in the stretch run and went on to win Saturday's $2 million, Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen by 2 1/4 lengths.

Euroears, trained in the United States by Bob Baffert, held second by a neck over Hong Kong veteran Sunny King. Another Hong Kong starter, Green Birdie, finished fourth.

Rocket Man, with Felix Coetzee up, got the 1,200 meters, or about 6 furlongs, on the all-weather track in 1:11.28.

"He was composed all week long and he was super tonight," Coetzee said. "I had him where I wanted him in the stretch and then he just pricked back his ears and took off."

In last year's Golden Shaheen, Rocket Man finished second to Kinsale King, who was a late scratch from Saturday's race. Since then, Rocket Man has been nearly invincible at home in Singapore and narrowly lost the Hong Kong Sprint last December to J J the Jet Plane, who won the Al Quoz Sprint on the grass earlier Saturday at Medan.

Rocket Man, a 5-year-old, Australian-bred Viscount gelding, is trained by Patrick Shaw.

Coetzee said the scratch of Kinsale King did not change his strategy for Rocket Man. "It was always going to be this way," he said.