Dubai: Godolphin handler Saeed Bin Surour said he was looking forward to running Winter Lightning in the UAE 1000 Guineas after the full sister to UAE Derby winner Thunder Snow showed plenty of guts to win the trial at Meydan on Thursday evening.

Ridden by Pat Cosgrave, the daughter of Shamardal had to dig deep into her reserves before she ran down leader Rayya, the mount of Pat Dobbs, in a thrilling finish to the 1,400 metre contest sponsored by Al Maryah Island.

Bin Surour was delighted with Winter Lightning’s performance on the Meydan dirt in what was only her second career start following a second place effort on debut at Newmarket, England in October.

“She’s a very well-bred filly who has show good form during her morning work,” said the long-serving Godolphin handler.

“In her race at Newmarket she was perhaps a little keen but she still finished the race well.

“She settled a lot better today and once again showed she’s not afraid of a battle in the closing stages,” he added.

“You would have to be very happy with that performance and we will now look at the UAE 1000 Guineas in three weeks time.”

Bin Surour won the first running of the fillies Classic back in 2001 with Muwakleh and has picked up eight more wins in the contest, which is run over a mile,

The most recent of these came with Local Time, ridden by James Doyle, in 2015.

Cosgrave was also full of praise for Winter Lightning, one of three Godolphin-owned fillies in the race together with strongly fancied Expressiy, trained by Charlie Appleby and Bin Surour’s second runner, Caring Touch.

“I liked the way she jumped out of the gates, relaxed and put her head down,” said Cosgrave. “She made a big impression and I think the mile will not be a problem. She’s still a baby so I wouldn’t ask for further, but she was staying on well in the end.

“It was a competitive race, she ran well and we hope she’ll come on from it,” he added.

“Both Winter Lightning and the runner-up (Rayya) are really nice fillies and there’s a lot to look forward to in the 1000 Guineas.”

Bin Surour’s wins in the 1000 Guineas include Muwakleh (2001), Infinite Spirit (2002), Mezzo Soprano (2003), Catstar (2004), Satin Kiss (2005), Cocoa Beach (2008), Siyaadah (2010), Ihtimal (2014) and Local Time (2015).