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| Staff Writer |
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Dhahabi, after two impressive runs over the same course and distance, lived up to expectations by winning his comeback race in a 12-furlong turf handicap at Meydan, UAE, on Friday, December 22nd.
Last season, the 5YO trained by Charlie Appleby showed impressive performances in both of his Carnival races. In January, he finished fourth after a late push.
During the race, William Buick held Dhahabi back in the middle of the pack. Slowly but surely, he worked his way up to fifth place, just as Dubai Future and Rakeez took the lead at the top of the straight. Dubai Future was ahead by a furlong and a half, but he couldn't hold off Dhahabi's challenge. The latter quickly accelerated and took the lead just before the final furlong.
Dhahabi finished the race strongly, winning by two and a quarter lengths. Despite leading for most of the race, Dubai Future lost to Scottish Anthem and New Comedy by a narrow margin.
William Buick said, “Dhahabi deserved that. It has been a long time since he last won but he very rarely runs a bad race and it’s nice to get him back on track following a layoff. The race panned out quite nicely for him.
“It’s very hard for a horse to run out in Dubai and spend the summer in Europe – not many can do it – so I suspect that connections had one eye on this campaign after he finished off last season here. Hopefully, that approach will be rewarded.”