Cruz hopes Beauty Flash can turn tables with gun draw in Duty Free

If the barrier draw for tomorrow night's US$5 million Dubai Duty Free is any guide, then the tide is swinging back around to Hong Kong trainer Tony Cruz.

The Cruz-trained Beauty Flash came up with a perfect barrier two draw for the 1,800m race and that is a nice contrast with most of Cruz's past experience in the desert centre, where he finished third with Bullish Luck in the World Cup in 2007 - but his best Duty Free effort was fifth with the same horse the year before.

Beauty Flash has risen sharply in Cruz's estimation, to the point where he is even comparing him with his former champion miler Bullish Luck, and the Duty Free holds out the chance to take that mantle altogether.

'Most of the time, I've had bad draws in this race. Bullish Luck came a couple of times and always drew wide - I think one year I had both him and Russian Pearl in the Duty Free and they drew 15 and 16,' Cruz recalled. 'But Beauty Flash has the right draw and I think that you have to think of him as being as good as Bullish Luck. Not many horses ever win three Group Ones in a row, and one of them an international race.'

That year with the two outside gates was also the year that the track played strongly to leaders on World Cup night and the two Cruz runners were backmarkers, to add insult to injury, but there is a growing view this time not only will Beauty Flash be suited by the low draw but that on the pace might be the place to be in a field filled with run-ons.

'Beauty Flash will be doing his usual thing and saying catch me if you can. The tempo should suit - he'll be up there on the pace straight away from two and then we know how hard he is to get past,' Cruz said. 'He is a real professional, better than he was before when he travelled overseas to Japan and he couldn't be in any better form.'