By Suleiman Altaf -
The Group 3 Al Ain Mile produced a sparking winner in the form of AA Lahab whose five-length romp has not only extended his unblemished racecourse career but also firmly placed him among the top echelons of Purebred Arabians in the Emirates.
Trained by Dennis O’Brien, the five-year-old grey was forced to settle at the rear of midfield as Ss Izz Dubai posted strong fractions in front and given it was the winner’s first encounter at this trip. Settling off the pace, rider Richard Mullen charted his way down to the centre of the track for a clear passage and once granted, he displayed a strong turn of foot to not only win but win impressively.
With the right mix of speed and stamina, this victory sets him up perfectly for bigger targets next season with a view at the Al Maktoum Series and the Dubai Kahayla Classic certainly not looking a forlorn hope.
RAAD ALBROOQ SCORES AMONG AL HADHRAMI TREBLE
A no-nonsense ride from Connor Beasley aboard Raad Albrooq in the 2000m maiden opened proceedings for the evening. The Ibrahim Al Hadhrami trainee had previously secured a placing on all three starts, including on his debut. From draw three, Beasley hurried his mount to the front soon after the break and the pair only extended their advantage in the straight as Waheed (Jules Mobian/Eric Lemartinel) stayed on to grab silver.
Al Hadhrami’s winning momentum continued in the second race of the programme, the 2000m 70-100 rated handicap, as Salb held on gamely from the flashing Smoke N Thunder (Mobian/Musabbeh Al Mheiri). The Royal Cavalry Oman-owned eight-year-old has been kept busy this term with a victory on seasonal reappearance and a fifth in a Listed event both at this venue instigating a tilt at a high-profile race in Oman. Although luckless there, he benefitted from the drop in class here to take his career victories to four.
The Omani conditioner enjoyed a fine outing at the Garden racecourse with N Kiam bringing up a treble for his yard as he fended off constant pursuer Mokhlis (Bernardo Pinheiro/Majed Al Jahoori) to score in the 1600m maiden. This time it was Sam Hitchcott in the saddle who orchestrated a wide but early move on his mount around the turn which proved to be a decisive move. The first two placegetters were clear of Murhib Al Wathba (Oscar Chavez/Jean-Claude Pecout) who plodded in third almost seven lengths adrift.
HITCHCOTT OOZES CONFIDENCE ABOARD ALJAMRI
A confidence-laden ride from Hitchcott aboard Al Asayl’s Aljamri in the 1800m open maiden produced a perfect precursor to stablemate AA Lahab’s heroics in the feature event. The winner was coasting throughout with Hitchcott only pressing the buttons a furlong from home. The response was immediate as the five-year-old quickly went clear posting a three-and-a-quarter length success eventually from AF Tasha’alal (Tadgh O’Shea/Ernst Oertel) and Mutamaasik (Mullen/O’Brien).
MAANAR STRIKES FOR MOBIAN AND LEMARTINEL
Those relying only on commentary for the 1800m filly and mare restricted maiden were left scratching their heads in determining the winner as racecourse commentator Pat Comerford called home a 1-2 for strikingly similarly pronounced and spelt Maanar and Manar (Beasley/Al Hadhrami). Luckily, the winner is owned by YAS Racing and the runner-up by Royal Cavalry Oman so that extra detail – much needed in this scenario – came to the rescue. Trained by Eric Lemartinel, Maanar improved on her debut third to score by a comfortable six-and-a-half lengths under Mobian.
Mobian brought up a double of his own when partnering the Musabbeh Al Mheiri-trained Alhebi to success in the penultimate 1400m 0-80 rated handicap. The winner survived a late scare from RB Kings Bay (Qais Al Busaidi/Helal Alalawi) to hold on by a diminishing short head.
MUKHREJ DENIES MOREEB IN THRILLER
AF Al Moreeb (Pinheiro/Qaiss Aboud) is a regular customer at Al Ain having competed in each of the last five meetings at the course securing a minimum third place finish on all occasions nonetheless and he was denied a victory once again as AF Mukhrej agonizingly beat him on the post by a nose in the 1800m 0-75 rated handicap. It was a long stretch tussle between the two, but the Oertel trainee got his head down when it mattered most to score under apprentice Marcelino Rodrigues.
The jockey-trainer duo of Pinheiro and Aboud had to wait till the last race for some compensation as AF Nafith found plenty to land the 1000m 0-75 rated handicap from Oertel’s AF Qadeh (O’Shea) and stablemate JAP Malawih (Mullen).
