The late and great Ertijaal will be recognised on Friday at Meydan when the Ertijaal Dubai Dash is raced in his name for the first time.
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| Rowan Anderson |
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The late and great Ertijaal will be recognised on Friday at Meydan when the Ertijaal Dubai Dash is raced in his name for the first time.
The Shadwell's homebred son of Oasis Dream began his career in Britain, trained by William Haggas, before being transferred to Ali Rashid Al Rayhi campaigning in the UAE for his next four seasons, as a seven-year-old.
The gelding won the Gr.3 Meydan Sprint (2017) and defended his title when the race was elevated to Group Two.
His win in the 2017 edition of the sprint helped jockey Jim Crowley to a riding double while also taking the spoils.
Crowley had partnered the horse in his last six starts for four wins and two placings to end his career. The hoop always commented on Etijaal’s pure speed and devastating turn of foot.
"He has got plenty of boot and was very fast out of the stalls. I just got into a nice rhythm and let him flow and he stuck on nicely,” Crowley said after the Sprint win.
"He always wants to get on with it and he doesn't like to be in there too long (stalls).”
"He has got lots of speed.”
"Wherever he goes I want to be on him."
He was the UAE’s top-rated horse of 2017 and with every start, he showed why adding to his CV and impressive performances.
The Shadwell-bred and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum-owned racer was runner-up in the 2016 Al Quoz Sprint and third in the same feature race the following year.
Ertijaal won at Meydan Racecourse seven times between 2015 and 2018 with his biggest win margin being four lengths storming clear over the 1000 metres in January 2016.
He was the model of consistency having won half of his 22 starts and amassing over $1,274,954 in prize money for trainer Ali Rashid Al Rayhi taking over his preparation in the UAE.
The speedster passed in November 2018 following a bout with colic and having his last start in March that year under Jim Crowley finishing second to one of his frequent rivals and competitors in Jungle Cat.
On his passing trainer, Al Rayhi told the media about his emotional state when his stable star passed.
“He was certainly one of the most popular horses in the UAE and over five furlongs one of the fastest in the world.”
With the naming of this sprint race his legacy will continue stronger than ever and showcase some of the equine speed stars the world has to offer on the track at Meydan for years to come.