Dubai // The French duo of Gerald Avranche and Eric Lemartinel are always a pair to fear, and they combined to win the featured Mazrat Al Ruwayah Prep, the only Purebred race on the card, at Meydan Racecourse on Thursday evening.
Avranche always looked comfortable aboard Lemartinel’s Bigg N Rich, with the pair hitting the front 200m out and running on strongly.
“I was happy throughout and knew I was going to go very close as we turned in,” the jockey said. “He did it well and is a nice horse.”
Richard Mullen and Satish Seemar have enjoyed plenty of success in maidens this season and struck again when Puzzlemaker made a winning debut over 1,600m, the pair leading only in the dying strides.
“He is potentially a really nice horse, and we thought he would need this outing as he is a big baby with a lot to learn. That is very pleasing,” Mullen said.
After four Jebel Ali winners for Seemar last week – three with Mullen – the pair doubled up for the evening with Genius Step winning by a nose in a thrilling finish to the 1,200m handicap.
The pair led 200m out but were challenged throughout the final 100m by Innocuous in a close finish. After lengthy deliberation, the judge decided in Mullen’s favour, with the jockey saying: “He has really fought hard and it was on the nod throughout the final strides.
“Luckily our head was down where it mattered. We thought he would win the last day and decided to ride him more patiently this time – it worked, but it was really very close, indeed.”
Rookie trainer Ahmed bin Harmash saddled his first runners and opened his account at the second attempt, with Ormindo losing his maiden tag in a 1,600m handicap.
Stable jockey Adrie de Vries produced him to lead close home and said: “We have to be delighted with that as he is inexperienced compared to those he has beaten.
“Holding him up in the rear and weaving through really seemed to suit him, and the decision to try new tactic has worked.”
It was not the only first on the card, with Julio Peromingo saddling his first UAE Thoroughbred winner with the surprise victory of Alnashmy in a 1,400m handicap.
Nearer to last place than first turning for home, he finished fast down the centre of the track under Pat Cosgrave.
The French trainer said: “My first Thoroughbred winner here and first ever at Meydan.
“We have to be delighted with that and hopefully he is a Carnival horse. This horse is talented but has not been the most straightforward to train, so we will be patient with him and give him plenty of time before his next outing.”
Wayne Smith, the former champion jockey, had endured a frustrating evening with two seconds and a third, but he hit the target in the concluding 1,900m handicap aboard Interpret.
Riding for his primary employer, Musabah Al Muhairi, Smith tracked the early pace before taking his charge to the front, turning into the straight and driving for home.
The pair dashed clear and ran on strongly, to the delight of the jockey, who said: “That was a relief – the horses have run well all night but we just needed a bit of luck.
“This is a nice horse but he has confidence problems and gets very warm before races. Hopefully he will grow out of that.”
Jockey fined amid mix-up over win count
The Emirates Racing Authority (ERA) have fined Marc Monaghan Dh5,000 and disqualified 25 of the horses ridden by the apprentice jockey since November 2 after he was found to have wrongly claimed a weight allowance of 3 kilograms instead of 2.5kg.
Monaghan, who rides for trainer Satish Seemar, was meant to move to a 2.5kg weight allowance once he had ridden 30 winners.
The ERA found that he reached that mark on November 1, with a victory on Maqaraat at Jebel Ali. However, Monaghan believed he had ridden only 29 winners, as one of those was a Purebred Arabian (AF Mursid at Sharjah in March). Monaghan also races in Ireland, and the Irish Turf Club do not recognise Purebred Arabian winners as counting toward an apprentice’s weight allowance, but the ERA do.
Monaghan has ridden in 25 races since November 1, including one winner – Qassam W’Rsan at Sharjah on November 23.
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