While the Dubai World Cup pits the world’s elite thoroughbreds against each other, one card dedicated to Purebred Arabian racing on the night is the Dubai Kahayla Classic.
Proof that the US$1 million (Dh3.67m) Group 1 race draws the best Purebreds to run over the same distance of 2,000 metres as the $10m World Cup is in the fact that this year it will feature horses that managed to beat Al Mourtajez, the highest-rated Arabian in the world.
Al Mourtajez could finish only sixth behind Kahayla favourites RB Burn (winner) and AF Mathmoon (fifth) in the €1.2m (Dh4.76m) Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club in November.
The Kahayla was the traditional opener of the World Cup card since it was established in 1996. While it has been moved to second in the nine-race card for Saturday, it has not dampened the enthusiasm of the nation’s elite trainers about the race.
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One such trainer is Ali Rashid Al Raihe of Grandstand Stables, who is targeting an elusive Kahayla title, even as the Emirati has enjoyed plenty of success in the thoroughbred races.
“Every owner, trainer and rider of the Purebred Arabian has the Kahayla as the main objective all through the season, or even before,” said the veteran trainer, who has a huge opportunity of adding the title to his CV this year with AF Mathmoon.
AF Mathmoon, winner of the race 12 months ago when he was trained by Musabah Al Muhairi, Al Raihe’s brother-in-law, moved to the Grandstand Stables and now runs under Al Raihe’s charge for the first time.
Al Muhairi is serving a 12-month ban from the Emirates Racing Authority for administering cobalt, a prohibited performance-enhancing substance, to Meydan winner Vivernus.
“He settled well in his new environment,” Al Raihe said. “He’s an easy horse to handle and his preparation has gone well. I only wish he stays healthy from now until the race day.”
The six-year-old grey son of AF Albahar became the first locally bred horse to win the Kahayla and returns to defend the title after winning nine of his 11 starts this season.
The only blip on AF Mathmoon’s otherwise stellar record this season is a second-place finish in Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 in January and a fifth behind RB Burn in the Jewel Crown.
“He wasn’t with me but he had some excuses for that defeat,” Al Raihe said. “Firstly, it was his first race after the Kahayla last year, and it was a muddling race over a 1,600m trip in Abu Dhabi.
“Since then, he’s won the last three starts very convincingly. Obviously, it’s a new race and stronger race, but are hopeful.”
Jim Crowley, the British champion and the retained jockey of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid who rode him to his last two victories, retains the ride on AF Mathmoon. If Crowley succeeds, the Englishman can add the Kahayla to his resume.
While the trainer and jockey are both chasing a first in their respective careers, Sheikh Hamdan has won this race eight times in 21 editions.
RB Burn may be expected to pose the primary challenge but there a few other contenders for the title, including two entries from Qatar – last year’s runner-up TM Thunder Struck, and Reda, whose trainer Julian Smart has won the race twice.
RB Burn’s Jewel Crown win seems to have given his camp plenty of confidence, with his handler Eric Lemartinel saying “he’s in better condition now and he has got the quality”.
The Frenchman is double-handed in the race with RB Dixie Burning to run under the four-time UAE champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea.
“We fancy his chances, too,” Lemartinel said. “He has won twice, and the last time he ran into traffic” referring to a fifth-place finish behind Handassa in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 over the Kahayla course and distance.
Loraa, winner of the Dh3 million President’s Cup in Abu Dhabi under Richard Mullen, makes her debut on dirt.
However Mullen, who was crowned UAE champion jockey before the World Cup draw yesterday, has opted to ride Elise Jeanne’s Faucon Du Loup on whom he won the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2.
Jean de Roualle, Loraa’s trainer, has booked the Belgium champion jockey Christophe Soumillon.
Among the 13 entries are Handassa, another in the silks of Sheikh Hamdan and last year’s fourth in the Kahayla, and RB Madymoiselle.
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