DUBAI // The charges of former champion trainer Ali Rashid Al Raihe were in dominant form at Meydan last night, highlighted by the victory of Haatheq in the featured 1600-metre conditions race, over the same course and distance as the Group 2 Godolphin Mile on Dubai World Cup night in March, a race in which he was second last season.
Dane O’Neill, the jockey for winning owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, always looked confident, easing his mount ahead 500m out and the pair held on well.
“He is a lovely horse and a real favourite in the yard,” O’Neill said. “I did not want to give him a hard race as he will have a long season ahead and we have plenty of options with him, both at the Carnival and at Jebel Ali, where he goes particularly well.”
It was a third consecutive victory on the card for trainer Al Raihe and a second for O’Neill and his main employer Sheikh Hamdan who had combined to win the 1400m handicap with Mundahesh.
The pair just held on to beat the fast-finishing Jamhoori, with O’Neill’s mount winning in his first UAE outing.
O’Neill said: “I won on this horse in England and he is one we always thought a lot of, but disappointed in England this season. That was much more like the horse we know.”
The trainer had made the perfect start to proceedings when Royston Ffrench, riding for his main employer Al Raihe, steered Bravo Ragazzo to a comfortable victory in the opening 1900m maiden.
Ffrench committed for home early in the straight and the pair were never in danger of being caught.
“I wanted to be positive and it worked perfectly,” Ffrench said. “Hopefully, he can improve.”
Apprentice Saeed Al Mazrooei registered his fourth success of the campaign with a last-gasp victory on Tamarrud in a 1600m handicap. Held well off the pace by his young jockey, Tamarrud finished fast and late to deny Prince Shaun, who moved to the front under 200m out.
Al Mazrooei, riding the winner for Abdulla bin Huzaim, said: “We were quite a long way back, but they were going pretty quick, so I was not too worried. When I switched him out, he ran on strongly. The season has started very well for me.”
Al Mazrooei was denied in similar fashion in the concluding 1900m handicap, when he was caught close to home while aboard Representation by Richard Mullen, who was riding the Satish Seemar-trained Antnori.
Jockey Wayne Smith was calmness personified on Innocuous in the 1200m handicap, with seemingly nowhere to go 400m out, but the jockey waited for a gap and the pair shot through, leading close home to register an unlikely looking victory.
“We were bumped at the start and again early on, so I had to take him back,” Smith said.
“I knew I had a lot of horse under me and when the gap appeared, he quickened well.”
The winner is trained by Musabah Al Muhairi.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
