Sheikh Mansour and Al Jahouri sweep away Arabian title

Rabbah De Carrere catches Djainka Des Forges for the Kahayla Classic win. Amith Passela reports from Dubai.

Rabbah De Carrere was in brilliant form at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Saturday night. Pawan Singh / The National

DUBAI // Rabbah De Carrere completed a remarkable season for Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed and Majed Al Jahouri by winning the Kahayla Classic and completing a sweep, for the owner-and-trainer duo, of all eight Group 1 prizes for Purebred Arabians in the country this season.

The opening race of the Dubai World Cup meeting was validation of Al Jahouri’s belief that Rabbah De Carrere is “the best over the 2,000-metre distance in the world ... He had to come from a wide draw and, for a horse that likes to be held, he had to wait for the openings to appear to make his way up and win the race.

“He is still young and inexperienced, but we hope he can stay in good health and win more races for us.”

The five-year-old bay came into the race after winning two Group 1 prizes, the middle leg of the Al Maktoum Challenge on February 6 and the President of the UAE Cup in Abu Dhabi 10 days later.

“At that time I felt it was too soon to bring him back after 10 days, but he still won,” Al Jahouri said. “So we left him out of the Al Maktoum Challenge which was run over the course and distance. It worked. And the Kahayla was the toughest.”

His victory continued a family tradition.

Rabbah De Carrere’s mother, Mizzna, won the Kahayla Classic in 2008, and his grandmother, Alanudd, won the race three times in succession through 1999.

Al Jahouri had four entered in the race and Naseem, under Jesus Rosales, was quick out of Gate 1.

He was joined at the front by the Julian Smart-trained Djainka Des Forges, drawn widest in Gate 16.

Christophe Lemaire went for home on Djainka Des Forges as the field swept on to the final stretch, and it appeared that the filly was going to give Qatar a win in this race for the third successive year until Olivier Peslier urged Rabbah De Carrere to an electrifying run along the rail.

Rabbah De Carrere was drawn in Gate 15.

Peslier said it was not the ideal place to be start.

“I was a little afraid because he hangs to the left and it was useless with him, so I stayed where I was and followed Christophe,” Peslier said.

“The gap came at the right time and he quickened well.”

Lemaire, too, said coming out of a wide gate and making all the running took a toll on his mount.

“I thought she might win, because every time she was attacked she responded well,” he said. “But, unfortunately, we had to lead a long way and do the hard work.

“But she still ran a great race, and the winner was a very good horse.”

Al Jahouri’s other two runners, Musharab and Raaziq, ran third and fourth.

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