Racing at Meydan on Saturday was highlighted by what appeared to be a wide-open competitive 1800m turf handicap, the DP World UAE region. That idea was turned upside-down when Rashed Bouresly’s Ajwad stole away under a brilliant front-running ride from Bernardo Pinheiro, leading gate-to-wire and winning his third race from 26 tries.
“It is always a pleasure to ride for these connections,” Pinheiro said. “The trainer was very confident and gave me perfect instructions, so I was not surprised he won so well. He had given the horse a month off and knew he was in great form at home.”
1200m dirt maiden, the Mina Rashid Marina
The meeting commenced with a 1200m dirt maiden, the Mina Rashid Marina, and Midnight Sands was a comfortable winner with Pat Dobbs aboard for Doug Watson and The Cool Silk Partnership celebrating their first UAE winner with the first horse they have campaigned locally.
Watson said: “He arrived in great shape, but a bit later than most of our new ones, so we were pleased with his second first time and delighted to have a winner for a new owner. He had definitely progressed from that first run and is a nice horse who I think is staying here for the summer, so could be a nice one for next season. That will probably be his final run this campaign, depending on what the handicapper does, because there is racing in April.”
Mina Hamriya, a 1400m dirt handicap
The Mina Hamriya, a 1400m dirt handicap, produced a thrilling finish with Gervais, who had led from the outset under Fernado Jara, denied right on the line by Iftitah and Tadhg O’Shea with the two jockeys clearly unsure who had prevailed as they flashed past the winning post. The verdict went to Iftitah, trained by Satish Seemar for Nasir Askar. He made it three wins from his last four starts and has now been successful at Al Ain, Jebel Ali and Meydan. A 5-year-old gelded son of Harbour Watch, he had finished second on his previous start at Jebel Ali and is proving a model of consistency.
Driven to lead shortly after the stalls opened by Royston Ffrench, Mizbah stayed there to land the Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal, a 2200m dirt handicap, in determined fashion. Owned by EERC (Emirates Entertainment Racing Club), the 10-year-old gelding was beaten in three previous outings this campaign, all last year, and was returning from a 64-day break to record his sixth UAE success.
EERC representative, Justin Byrne, added: “We hoped for a good run because he was showing good signs at home but, as Doug, said, he was giving a lot of weight away. The chances are we will race him next season before retiring him but the syndicate will discuss that after enjoying this.”
Jafza, a 2000m dirt handicap
Grand Argentier then almost completed a carbon copy double for owner and trainer in the Jafza, a 2000m dirt handicap with Adrie de Vries, immediately grabbing the initiative and appearing the likely winner turning for home.
The owner completed a double with dirt debutant George Villiers in the 1600m handicap, the Mina Rashid, combining this time with Satish Seemar and Richard Mullen, denying Watson, Dobbs and EERC another success with Pillar of Society who led from the outset before headed about 150m out.
The finale, a 1200m turf handicap, the Jebel Ali Port
The finale, a 1200m turf handicap, the Jebel Ali Port, was won in fine style by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Raafid, who simply outran all in the final 400m. The 6-year-old son of Shamardal was ridden by Dane O’Neill and is trained by Ali Rashid Al Rayhi.
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