Boerhan caps a winning weekend for Nicholas Bachalard and Ryan Curatolo

RESULTS

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Foah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.

6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: RB Dixie Honor, Antonio Fresu, Helal Al Alawi.

7.30pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.

Boerhan made a winning local debut as Nicholas Bachalard and Ryan Curatolo rounded off the weekend with back-to-back winners.

The trainer-jockey partnership were successful with newcomer Shamikh at Jebel Ali on Friday and completed the double by taking the solitary prize for the thoroughbreds at Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

“Honestly I didn’t really expect that because the horse was a bit short of work,” Bachalard said of the four-year-old Sea The Stars gelding Boerhan.

“We just decided in the last minute to come for this race. The team worked very well and I think it’s all credit to them.”

The Listed Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup on December 8 now seems a likely target for Boerhan, though Bachalard sounded a note of caution.

“We’ll see where he goes next because he was rated only 89. We’ll try to improve him for the National Day Cup," Bachalard added. "This race may be too quick for him but we’ll see if we can take a chance.”

Boerhan made a winning bow when trained by William Haggas in the UK but that was his only success in six starts before arriving in Dubai.

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Curatolo, riding in the UAE for the first time, took his tally to three winners and was quick to send praise Bachalard's way.

“Nicholas did a good job with this horse and I’ll give the credit to the trainer for tonight’s success,” the winning jockey said.

“We ran behind the leaders in seventh or eighth and when I got the gap I asked him for an effort, and he did a good performance.”

The five prizes for the Purebred Arabians were shared among some familiar names.

The trainer-jockey-owner combination of Ernst Oertel, Tadhg O’Shea and Khalid Khalifa Al Nabooda kicking off the proceedings by winning the opener with AF Majalis.

Szczepan Mazur rode Ibrahim Al Hadhrami’s Sawt Assalam to victory in the second race while Fabrice Veron on board Eric Lemartinel’s Foah was next to enter the winner’s enclosure.

Sandro Paiva steered Ali Rashid Al Raihe’s Faiza to take the fourth and Antonio Fresu grabbed the next on Helal Al Alawi’s RB Dixie Honor.