UAE horsemen are notable in their support of the inaugural Irish Champions Weekend, with several entries running at Leopardstown tonight or at The Curragh tomorrow.
Five Group 1 races will be run in Ireland across the two days and there is every indication it could be a major success, with 13 of the 16 races featuring overseas runners, up from nine of 16 last season when the races were spread out.
Godolphin is an international operation so its presence in the Irish Champions Weekend is almost a given, even if this season the stable is still without a top-flight success outside Dubai. Yet in Sheikh Rashid bin Dalmook’s Rizeena and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s Mukhadram the UAE is almost certainly going to secure a spot on the shiny new podium.
Rizeena faces nine rivals in the 1,600-metre Matron Stakes for fillies and mares, in which she appears to have everything in her favour.
Bruce Raymond, Sheikh Rashid’s racing manager, also sees it that way, with the stumbling block of Aidan O’Brien’s Tapestry, who beat Taghrooda in the Yorkshire Oaks last month, the only danger.
“I think there are only two runners in the race,” Raymond said. “We have got the best jockey in Ryan Moore. She is in good shape, she is running over the right distance, and will probably be on the right going.
“Tapestry is very good but coming back from 12 furlongs to a mile I would be very surprised if she beat Rizeena.”
Mukhadram has the unenviable task of trying to outrun Australia in the Irish Champion Stakes at 9.50pm (UAE time).
He spearheads a three-pronged attack in the €1 million (Dh4.76m) event for the Maktoum family, with Sheikh Hamdan’s Alkasser supplemented this week to act as a pacemaker and Godolphin’s Trading Leather looking to improve on last year’s third.
In tandem with Taghrooda, Mukhadram has carried Sheikh Hamdan’s colours successively throughout this season but Mukhadram fell off dramatically in the International Stakes at York when O’Brien orchestrated his downfall by unleashing Kingfisher as a pacemaker.
Mukhadram was far too keen under regular rider Paul Hanagan when pestered on the outside by Kingfisher and, almost after the first furlong, his race was run. It was an easy victory for Australia.
Sheikh Hamdan’s team hope that Alkasser can prevent a repeat and that Mukhadram’s battling qualities can be utilised at the end of the 2,000m race, rather than at the start.
“Sheikh Hamdan told Paul to make sure he got a lead,” Angus Gold, Sheikh Hamdan’s racing manager said.
“The horse fought him for two furlongs and that was it. The horse got fed up with it. He’s a very good horse on his day and is taking on the big boys.”
sports@thenational.ae
