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| Staff Writer |
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Seven races at Al Ain on Saturday, all offering AED70,000 in prize money so no obvious feature, including one Thoroughbred race, a 1400m handicap which has attracted a capacity field of 15 and looks wide open.
Trained locally by Helal Alalawi, Iftitah will be having his third start for the trainer, having spent last season with Musabbeh Al Mheiri, but has not really fired in either outing this season.
However, he is a course and distance winner having scored his first of three UAE victories in a 1400m Al Ain handicap in January 2019 when trained by Satish Seemar who also saddled him to victories over 1200m at Jebel Ali and 1400m at Meydan.
All three wins were in a prolific spell in the early part of 2019, the most recent, at Meydan, at the beginning of March that year. He has struggled since but, as a result, is very well handicapped on his best form.
Bernardo Pinheiro is enjoying a good season and partners Miniaturist for Ahmed Al Shemaili, the 8yo Shamardal gelding seeking a fourth career success, third in the UAE and second at Al Ain.
His previous course victory was in a 1600m handicap in January this year and he did win over 1400m in England when trained by Mark Johnston.
After a pleasing seasonal debut when sixth in a big field at Sharjah at the end of October, he was then disappointing in a 1600m handicap here at Al Ain five weeks ago when never able to get competitive.
For Salem bin Ghadayer and the mount of Xavier Ziani, Lahmoon has also won at Al Ain, in his case a 1000m handicap in October 2020 when partnered by Royston Ffrench who seems to prefer the chances of stable companion Honorable Justice on this occasion.
Ffrench’s mount, a 5yo Majesticperfection entire, is having his fifth start already this season and was third, finishing fast under Ffrench, over 1200m at Sharjah just last Saturday. He was also runner-up, here at Al Ain, over 1600m on his second start of the campaign. This 1400m looks likely to suit with a good early gallop virtually guaranteed.
Owner Mohammed Khalifa Al Basti has a strong team of Thoroughbreds and has two chances, Shanghai Tong and Corogo, representing the powerful combinations of Doug Watson/Pat Dobbs and Bhupat Seemar/Tadhg O’Shea respectively.
Both his runners remain maidens but have only had 12 starts between them, Corogo responsible for just five of them, and they have to be respected representing top trainers.
The best of the Purebred Arabian action is also a 1400m handicap for which only eight are set to face the starter. The weights are headed by Samid, trained on the Al Ain track by Jean de Roualle for Yas Racing but making his first start on dirt.
The mount of Adrie de Vries, the 4yo colt will be having his fifth career outing and is looking to add to his solitary success, on his local debut, in a 1200m Abu Dhabi maiden.
From two runners to be saddled by Ernst Oertal for Khalid Khalifa Al Nabooda, the owner’s retained jockey, Tadhg O’Shea partners AF Motaghatres, leaving the spare ride on stablemate AF Kal Noor for Ray Dawson.
Both appear to hold claims as does Pat Cosgrave’s mount Maaly Al Reef for Al Ajban Stables and Abdallah Al Hammadi, a trainer whose horses have been in flying form at Al Ain this season.