Racing at Meydan on Saturday was highlighted by a night of thrilling finishes, including in the evening’s two turf races — one over the sprint distance of 1400m and the other over the testing 2400m. In the former, Race 5 (Al Naboodah Construction Group Handicap), Rocket Power was able to record a fourth consecutive victory this season, having won his three previous outings at Jebel Ali. He was chased home by stable companion Azraff. Owned by Mohd Khalifa Al Basti, who also owns third-placed Billingsgate, he was ridden by Connor Beasley for conditioner Ahmad bin Harmash.
Said trainer and jockey completed a double in the second turf fixture, the seventh and final race, when Mansoor Al Mansoori’s Muqaatil won by the slightest of noses over a super-game Doublet and Mickael Barzalona for trainer Sandeep Jadhav.
Al Basti was completing a double after, earlier, Tadhg O’Shea and Argentina-bred J B Space dominated the opening 1900m dirt maiden, the Al Naboodah Trade School by 10 lengths.
Race Results
A 1200m dirt handicap, the Al Naboodah Building, provided the perfect opportunity for Nine Below Zero to make a winning dirt and local debut, as well as opening the seasonal account of trainer Fawzi Nass and owners Al-Afoo Racing Stable. Only six went to post with Adrie de Vries settling the 4-year-old Showcasing coming in third, allowing Pirate’s Cove and Beachcomber Bay to set a generous gallop.
The longest dirt race on the card, a 2200m handicap, the Trans Gulf Electro-Mechanical, was a thriller with Big Brown Bear and Quartier Francaislocked together throughout the final 300m and ultimately sprinting 16½ lengths clear of eventual third Cachao.
Team Watson-Dobbs’ other victory came in the night’s sixth race, the other 1600m handicap (Al Naboodah National Plant) where Dale Brennan’s Illusional ran down a reluctant Robin Weathers to win by a half-length.
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