Polar River rolled to a near track-record performance in her debut Dec. 3 at Meydan Race Course in Dubai, winning by 13 ½-lengths and earning the coveted TDN Rising Star tag for the victory.
The 2-year-old daughter of Congrats finished the 1,200 meters in 1:10.65, just two hundredths of a second outside the course record set by Secret Circle in the 2015 Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1).
“She is very useful,” understated winning rider Sam Hitchcott. “It was a very good performance, especially first time out. It would be nice to think she will build on this and hopefully she is a filly with a big future.”
Polar River is out of the Empire Maker mare Bayou Tortuga. She is a half-sister to three stakes winners, including Tortuga Straits ($831,573) and Tortuga Flats ($594,064).
Polar River is one of three maiden special weight winners this week for Congrats, who is a top-10 sire by winners this year.
