South American jockeys, Silvestre De Sousa and Fernando Jara, took centre stage with each riding a double in the penultimate meeting at the Abu Dhabi racecourse on Sunday.
De Sousa, the reigning British champion jockey from Brazil, won the fourth and fifth races for two different trainers after Panamanian rider Jara grabbed the first two prizes on offer in the seven-race card.
“Riding a winner is always a happy moment,” said De Sousa, who steered Purebred Arabian Jaser to victory in the handicap over 2,200 metres and Muqaatil in the 1,400m maiden for thoroughbreds.
On both occasions, De Sousa timed his challenge perfectly. He brought Jaser with a run from the outside to win by two lengths from the Eric Lemartinel-trained Mukaram under Tadhg O’Shea.
_____________
Read more:
North America and Yulong Warrior book Dubai World Cup places after Meydan wins
William Buick constantly striving to improve as Godolphin's retained jockey
[ Muntazah shines in Abu Dhabi to win President’s Cup as Rmmas seals hat-trick ]
_____________
De Sousa was atop Jaser for the first time in his four local starts. The five-year-old chestnut has previously won three races from six starts in England.
“He’s a lovely strong horse. He has a lovely pedigree ad he deserved,” said De Sousa of Jaser.
For his second victory, De Sousa had Muqaatil well-placed behind the early pace setters before stepping on the gas on the final 200m to win by a length and-a-half from Nobelium ridden by Gerald Avranche.
“Muqaatil has taken some time but he won pretty well tonight,” the Brazilian said. “He wasn’t beaten too far in his last two starts and we were hopeful coming into this race. He’s progressing.”
Jara scooped the first two prizes in Abu Dhabi on Morjanah Al Reef and Bushrah Al Reef, both trained by Abdallah bin Hammadi.
The Panamanian jockey, who is remembered for his success in the 2007 Dubai World Cup on Invasor in the silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, came in with a late run to take the opener by a neck from another Lemartinel-O’Shea runner Tawazun.
Jara denied the same trainer-jockey combination again half hour later with a similar ride and result.
“They have both run well this season and the results don’t surprise me,” Jara said. “The first one (Morjanah Al Reef) came into this race having run a good second in the Emirates Fillies Classic. That was a race with Prestige status and we quietly fancied his chances.
“Bushrah Al Reef was a winner over the course and distance two races ago. She too came into this race with a chance. Obviously happy with the result and for the connections.”
Lemartinel and O’Shea got one winner on the board by taking the concluding maiden on RB Brick House, but not before a terrific run to the line with Richard Mullen atop Helal Al Alawi’s Aseyl, with whom O’Shea is engaged in a battle for the UAE’s Jockeys Championship title.
The win took O’Shea’s tally to 41, six more than Mullen with four meetings left before the grand finale at the Dubai World Cup on March 31.
Harry Bentley rode Elise Jeanne’s MH Tawag to victory in the third race, and Omani jockey Anas Al Siyabi on Khalif Al Neyadi’s Al Gadeer edged out compatriot Saif Al Balushi aboard AZ Laheeb in the Wathba Stallion Cup, the sixth race.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
Switching sides
Mahika Gaur is the latest Dubai-raised athlete to attain top honours with another country.
Velimir Stjepanovic (Serbia, swimming)
Born in Abu Dhabi and raised in Dubai, he finished sixth in the final of the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 200m butterfly final.
Jonny Macdonald (Scotland, rugby union)
Brought up in Abu Dhabi and represented the region in international rugby. When the Arabian Gulf team was broken up into its constituent nations, he opted to play for Scotland instead, and went to the Hong Kong Sevens.
Sophie Shams (England, rugby union)
The daughter of an English mother and Emirati father, Shams excelled at rugby in Dubai, then after attending university in the UK played for England at sevens.
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Specs: 2024 McLaren Artura Spider
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 and electric motor
Max power: 700hp at 7,500rpm
Max torque: 720Nm at 2,250rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
0-100km/h: 3.0sec
Top speed: 330kph
Price: From Dh1.14 million ($311,000)
On sale: Now
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000