Areem was passed over by jockey Wayne Smith for the Group 3 race, but he ran out an easy winner in Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The National
Areem was passed over by jockey Wayne Smith for the Group 3 race, but he ran out an easy winner in Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The National
Areem was passed over by jockey Wayne Smith for the Group 3 race, but he ran out an easy winner in Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The National
Areem was passed over by jockey Wayne Smith for the Group 3 race, but he ran out an easy winner in Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The National

Areem upstages stablemate Thakif to prove jockey Smith wrong


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

ABU DHABI // Richard Mullen, the UAE champion jockey, made the most of a spare ride left by Wayne Smith to win the Group 3 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup on-board Areem last night.

Smith rode Areem to an impressive win in the trial for this race three weeks ago but chose instead to ride stablemate Thakif, on the strength of his third behind the Qatari raider Kalino and the French-trained Sahabba in the €1.2 million (Dh4.7m) Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown last month. Areem was also runner-up behind Thakif in the same race 12 months ago when it was the National Day Cup for Purebred Arabians

“It was my first time on Areem and it proved to be a very nice spare ride,” Mullen said.

“Actually it was Wayne who put me on him because he had a tough choice with Thakif. Sometimes it happens, but for me, its was real nice to win a prestigious race in Abu Dhabi.”

Mullen had Areem quickly out of the gate and bowling along with his familiar front-running ploy. He soon had the field stretched out on the home stretch to win the Dh420,000 race by two-and-quarter lengths.

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Areem was chased home by Eric Lemartinel trio Abhaar, Abu Alabyad and RB Smokin Rich, with Thakif more than eight lengths behind in fifth.

“Areem has got such good cruising speed and I thought turning in I still had a lot at hand,” Mullen said.

“I thought if anything didn’t come to me at the furlong pole he had put the race to bed. He travelled well and had such good speed throughout the race, and it had to take a very good one to pass me.”

Nacer Samiri, the trainer of both Areem and Thakif, said it was a tough call for Smith and a lucky one for Mullen.

“If you ask me, there was nothing much to choose between the two horses,” said the trainer of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed’s Al Wathba Stables. “It was how the race panned out on the night. Thakif had to race wide outside horses. He was a bit unlucky but we can’t take anything away from the winner. Areem seems to have returned to the form that won him four Group 1 prizes.”

Christopher Hayes produced a blistering late run on the Dhruba Selvaratnam-trained Forjatt to clinch the Listed Dh380,000 National Day Cup for thoroughbreds from More Aspen and Ghaamer.

The seven-year-old gelded son of Iffraaj won the trial race three weeks ago but this was a much stronger field.

“He had to do a lot on the final 200 metres, but he’s genuine and tough, and did it very nicely at the end,” Hayes said.

Ernst Oertel, the two-time UAE Champion Trainer, saddled three winners under three different jockeys.

“It has been a wonderful evening,” said Oertel, who also saddled two winners in Sharjah on Saturday.

“We have got some very nice young horses but we are just taking our time.

“When you start a new stable it takes time to get everything to work properly. We are hopeful some of these runners will improve during the season.”

Oertel saidhis first two winners last night – AF Laja and AF La’Asae – will return for the two Prestige races, the Colts and Fillies’ Classics, in two weeks. “They were impressive winners.”

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Uefa Champioons League semi-final, first leg:

Liverpool 5
Salah (35', 45 1'), Mane (56'), Firmino (61', 68')

Roma 2
Dzeko (81'), Perotti (85' pen)

Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

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6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 2,000m - Winner: Powderhouse, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)

7.05pm: Handicap Dh165,000 2,200m - Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

7.40pm: Conditions Dh240,000 1,600m - Winner: Walking Thunder, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash

8.15pm: Handicap Dh190,000 2,000m - Winner: Key Bid, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 1,200m - Winner: Drafted, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson

9.25pm: Handicap Dh170,000 1,600m - Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

10pm: Handicap Dh190,000 1,400m - Winner: Rodaini, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash

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Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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Manchester City 1

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Brighton 0

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This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

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The tour

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Brief scores:

Day 1

Toss: South Africa, field first

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South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4

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At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.

The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.

Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.

And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.

At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.

And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.

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Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

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