ABU DHABI // There is only one blemish on Mahbooba’s racing CV, a lone defeat in six starts that came when she was outrun by Sniper De Monlau in the middle leg of the Arabian Triple Crown last March.
On either side of that race, the Eric Lemartinel-trained mare had her great rival behind her in the Triple Crown race series last season.
Mahbooba lines up on Sunday night in a rematch with Sniper De Monlau in the Dh3 million President Cup for Purebred Arabians as a firm favourite at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.
Mahbooba comes in on the back of two impressive victories this season, the first over 1,600 metres and then next in the President Cup Prep over Sunday night’s distance of 2,200m two weeks ago. Tadhg O’Shea, the four-time UAE champion and the leading jockey this season, retains the ride.
“She is a very nice, young mare who seems to be improving all the time,” O’Shea said.
“This is a strong race, as you would expect for the money, but we are certainly expecting a big run from her. I think Loraa and Sniper De Monlau could be the main dangers.”
Sniper De Monlau tends to hang badly after the final bend.
He did so in each of his five starts at the capital’s right-handed track last season. He was tried over the left-handed Meydan track and, sadly for connections, he did the same thing.
Royston Ffrench, who has ridden him in each of his four most recent outings, is again assigned the task of trying to keep him straight. If Ffrench manages to then Sniper De Monlau certainly will pose the biggest challenge to Mahbooba.
Loraa, trained in Al Ain by Jean de Roualle and ridden by Richard Mullen, was third in the Prep race and should come from that run.
Along with Sniper De Monlau and Loraa, Erwan Charpy will send out Versac Py to stop Lemartinel’s attempt to win a second big prize at the capital’s track after the Frenchman sent RB Burn to land the €1.2m (Dh4.7m) Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown on November 13.
Lemartinel has four others entered in the race, including Abu Alabyad, the winner of this Group 1 prize in 2015 and runner up last year.
The seven-year-old was a runner up behind stablemate Mahbooba in the Prep race in his most recent start.
He is ridden by Gerald Avranche and the one most likely to take up challenge from inside the stable among the other three runners – Nashmee, RB Torch and Shaheer.
The President Cup for the thoroughbreds looks wide-open race.
The Listed event for Dh380,000 is the third on the card and will be run over 1,400m with the maximum 16 runners including Akeed Champion, winner of the Prep race three weeks ago. Satish Seemar trains half of the 16 runners going to post. Akeed Champion will be under the stable jockey Richard Mullen – twice a winner over the course and distance in his three local starts.
Making his local debut is Haalick, an interesting new acquisition of the Jebel Ali Stables trainer Dhruba Selvaratnam.
The four-year-old has won twice, including a Listed prize at the Lingfield all-weather track, in eight career starts when trained by Roger Varian in England.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
