Rabbah De Carrere will have an impressive family pedigree to live up to when he goes off in the Dubai Kahayla Classic on Dubai World Cup night on Saturday.
The horses grandmother and mother have both won the race, which is the equivalent of the a World Cup for Purebred Arabians.
Rabbah De Carrere’s grandmother Alanudd won three times in-a-row from 1997 to 1999 and mother Mizzna took victory in 2008.
He comes into the race having won his last two starts in impressive style. He is sure to garner a lot of emotional support from those racegoers of Alanudd’s era.
“It is hard to match Alanudd with any other. She was a legend and remains unmatched and unrivalled to this date. Rabbah possesses a few of her qualities,” Majed Al Jahouri, his trainer, said.
“He’s frisky, particularly in the mornings before we take him out for a spin or exercise walk. After that he is relaxed and well-behaved for the remainder of the day. I was told her grandmother had similar qualities.
“Rabbah enjoys the same care as the rest of the horses but everyone in the stables knows of her pedigree. It is quite natural that when we speak about him, Alanudd and Mizzna’s names are mentioned.”
Alanudd was owned by Sheikh Zayed, the founding President of the UAE, and was one of his favourite racehorses. She was a crowd favourite and was greeted with loud cheers before and after races.
Bred in the United States under the name Unchained Melody, the chestnut mare won every major prize for Purebred Arabians in the Emirates during a phenomenal career that lasted seven years.
She won 36 of her 37 starts in a dominating front-running style while still finding the acceleration at the finish to demolish her rivals.
Alanudd’s record, both on turf and dirt, includes five Emirates Championships, five President’s Cups, four National Day Cups, four Al Maktoum Challenge titles, and three Kahayla Classics. She also set three course records among Purebred Arabians in the UAE, all of which still stand.
“These records go on to prove her greatness. She is one of those you may see once in a lifetime,” said Pat Buckley, the longtime racing manager of Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.
Mizzna won 12 of her 17 career starts and never finished outside the first three places. She was retired after suffering an injury during the season after her triumph in the Kahayla Classic.
It is still early days in Rabbah De Carrere’s career but he has done well so far, winning four of his eight starts and only once finishing out of the first three.
The biggest challenger on Saturday at Meydan Racecourse for the five year old appears to come from his stable companion Raaziq, winner of two of his three UAE starts, including the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 over the Kahayla Classic course and distance (2,000 metres).
Musharab, two-time winner of the Emirates Championship, and Naseem, winner of the National Day Cup, complete Al Jahouri’s quartet.
“Rabbah is strong in the last 400m when they kick for home. He is versatile on both the turf and Tapeta [at Meydan] and is best over the 2,000m distance,” the Emirati said.
“At the moment, Rabbah and Raaziq appear to be in excellent shape and we hope they remain the same until the race day. It is a tough race, the toughest for any horse vying for this prize.
“Raaziq is also closely related to Alanudd from the sire’s [Munjis] side. He doesn’t have the finishing power of Rabbah but can stay up front for the entire distance.”
Yet the biggest challenge to Al Jahouri may come from Mushrea, winner of the €700,000 (Dh3.56 million) Qatar Arabian World Cup at Longchamp on the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe day last October, and Al Mamun Monlau, last year’s winner of the Kahayla Classic.
Mushrea, trained in France by Jean Pierre Totain, carries the first colours of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed from his five entries, of which four are trained in Abu Dhabi by Al Jahouri.
“I will be very happy if any one of the five horse’s wins for Sheikh Mansour,” said Al Jahouri, who has so far scooped all the Group 1 prizes for Purebred Arabians in the country for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
“My gut feeling is that Rabbah and Raaziq will both run big races. Of the two, Rabbah certainly will stir emotions, should he win. I wish he will win, because he indeed is a special horse with a deep sentimental value attached to him.”
apassela@thenational.ae
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