By Duane Fonseca -
Salem bin Ghadayer’s Vagalame bounced back from two humiliating defeats to win his career’s biggest prize with a frontrunning success in the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship on Thursday.
The 2200m contest was one of two Thoroughbred events - and the feature - on a seven race card that brought the curtains down on racing in the UAE capital this season.
Imported from Carlos Laffon-Parias’ yard in France, the five-year-old Lope De Vega gelding, running in the colours of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum since his arrival in the UAE, went gate to wire for a first winner of the season for Bin Ghadayer’s second choice rider Xavier Ziani.
Ziani rode positively, taking Vagalame to the front and holding on comfortably, with only Keffaaf, one of two dispatched by Michael Costa, appearing threatening in the closing stages. Vagalame, however, had done enough to put the race to bed and ran home gamely to win by a neck. Ahmad bin Harmash-trained Franz Kafka was a further length and a half behind in third under Sam Hitchcott.
With Costa missing out, the lead in the UAE Trainers’ Championship passed on to Bhupat Seemar, who scored in the other Thoroughbred contest, the Mussafah Bridge handicap over 1400m. Seemar is now one clear of the Australian after Fall Of Rome turned out to be his 37th winner for the season.
Steered by O’Shea just off the pace set by Where’s The Wayya, Fall Of Rome was asked to quicken straightening up and went well along the outside even though Bin Ghadayer’s Royston Ffrench driven Benzema hit the front momentarily with a run along the rail before being reeled in on the final stride.
Benzema was a nose behind in second, with Ironside a further short head back in third for Qaiss Aboud and Bernardo Pinheiro.
Pinheiro later won the PA Group 3 Arabian Triple Crown R3 with Majed Al Jahoori’s Tariq bringing up a final evening double for powerful local outfit Yas Racing.
Pinheiro rode positively and led his four-year-old AF Albahar partner first past every post to score by three and a half lengths from Ibrahim Al Hadhrami’s Singasong Al Maury, the ride of O’Shea. Ahmed Al Balushi’s second-leg winner RB Yas Man, ridden again by Amur Al Rasbi, was a further head behind in third.
Racing got underway with Mohammed Al Mahrooqi’s Namoor winning the Sheikh Khalifa Bridge 1600m maiden by five and a quarter lengths, while bringing up the first part of a double for Yas Racing was Eric Lemartinel’s Maanar, who only just held on in the Sheikh Zayed Bridge 0-90 handicap for fillies and mares under Jules Mobian.
Ahmed Al Mehairbi’s Al Laith added to his resume a fourth triumph this season when claiming the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Gold Cup, a 1600m PA Prestige run, under Hitchcott, while Ernst Oertel made the trip back to Dubai jubilant after Marcelino Rodrigues led AF Ghayyar to a stylish success in the Wathba Stallions Cup 0-85 handicap for UAE bred horses.
