Falaah Lands Kahayla Classic In Huge Upset

Muraad Denied Shot At History In Dubai

Falaah sweeps home from stall 15 to claim the Gr.1 Dubai Kahayla Classic at Meydan, delivering one of the defining results of the 30th Dubai World Cup meeting and denying the odds-on Muraad in a richly contested US$1,000,000 (AED3,673,000) renewal over 2000 metres on dirt. The 8YO grey gelding, trained by Ahmed Al Balushi and ridden by Al Moatasem Al Balushi in the colours of HH Sayyid Shihab bin Harib bin Thuwaini Al Said, wearing a visor and tongue tie and carrying an official rating of 118, accounts for Majed Al Jahoori's Muraad and collects the winner's share of US$580,000 (AED2,130,340), with Jaber Bittar's Mubeed, ridden by Ray Dawson, taking third.

The result represents a remarkable culmination for a son of AF Albahar out of Zeina whose Oman-based connections had kept him sharp through wins at Al Rahba in conditions and handicap company before he announced himself as a genuine Group One contender with a Gr.1 success over this course and distance earlier in the season, beating Mubeed by just over one length in a race that carried a foretaste of Saturday's outcome. Stepping out from the widest draw available on a night when the credentials of the market leader made him an overwhelming pre-race favourite, Falaah demonstrates that there remains no substitute for a horse peaking at exactly the right moment, and the grey's late surge through the Meydan straight proves beyond question that he belongs at the top of the Purebred Arabian division.

Muraad Denied Shot At History In Dubai

Muraad, the 6YO chestnut son of Thakif trained by Al Jahoori and partnered by Silvestre De Sousa from stall 12, arrives carrying an official rating of 126 and unbeaten on the Meydan dirt this season, having claimed successive Group One prizes over 1600 and 1900 metres to establish himself as the clear standard-setter in the division. His bid to complete a hat-trick of Group One victories falls at the final obstacle as Falaah proves simply too strong in the closing stages, with the French-bred horse taking US$200,000 (AED734,600) in second-place prize money. Having made his Group One reputation in France under Damien Watrigant before his transfer to Al Jahoori's UAE operation, Muraad had appeared poised for a landmark success on the biggest night of the Gulf racing season, only for an Oman-based 8YO carrying a rating eight pounds his inferior to deny him.

Mubeed Fills Third For Consistent Bittar Team

Mubeed, the 6YO chestnut son of Mahabb trained by Bittar, finds the frame for the second time this season behind Falaah, continuing to demonstrate the consistency that has marked him as one of the division's most reliable performers. The Emirati-bred campaigner, who had pushed Muraad to a short head in the Gr.1 over 1600 metres at Meydan earlier in the campaign, finishes from stall 14 under Ray Dawson to collect US$100,000 (AED367,300) for connections, providing further confirmation that his best form is reliably produced when the race is run over the full Meydan dirt distance.
The day belonged to Ahmed Al Balushi, Al Moatasem Al Balushi and the irrepressible Falaah, an 8YO who demonstrated that Purebred Arabian racing at the very highest level can still produce a result that defies every pre-race calculation.