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| Staff Writer |
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Ernst Oertel, a trainer with many championship titles, is eagerly anticipating the PA Gr.1 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown next month. In order to compete for one of the most prestigious and profitable prizes in international Purebred Arabian racing, Oertel must first ensure that his runner, Diamond Gem, earns a spot in the lineup.
Oertel believes that Diamond Gem, his multiple award-winning American import and winner of the 2022 Darley 3YO Colt of the Year and Darley Horse of the Year in the United States, deserves a spot in the line-up competing for the AED5 million purse.
The race is just a little over two weeks away, and while Oertel is the main trainer for multiple and reigning UAE Champion Owner Khalid Khalifa Al Nabooda, he may have more options in the coming weeks. Nonetheless, Diamond Gem is one of the names he would like to saddle for the race alongside the AF Farms blue bloods.
“I’ve got a new horse called Diamond Gem, he was a champion in America. He went to France and had two disappointing races, but conditions in France are completely different than here and I am hoping he’ll get an invite for the Jewel Crown race,” Oertel told Adiyat Racing Plus.
“Besides him we’ve got the old favourites and as the races come in time, we’ll target them and have horses ready for them, but I am trying to get an invite for Diamond Gem in the Jewel Crown.”
If Diamond Gem secures a spot in the PA Gr.1 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown lineup, he will carry the colors of Joe and Betty Gillis of Allegro Arabians, who have sent two horses for the UAE winter, showcasing the increasing interest of international owners in the lucrative prize purses in Emirates racing. Ernst Oertel, the trainer, is excited to have another nice horse in Sandstorm, who will also run on Jewel Crown day. Sandstorm, an exciting filly, previously ran in a Group One in France (Qatar Arabian Trophy Des Pouliches Stakes at Saint-Cloud), finishing second in one race and sixth in the Group One. Oertel is looking forward to a good night of racing in Abu Dhabi, especially since Khalid always has very good horses.
Ernst Oertel has had many successful nights of racing in the Emirates, thanks to his principal patron and ERA Champion Owner Al Nabooda and his first choice rider Tadhg O’Shea. During the 2018-19 campaign, the trio reached the peak of their powers, winning their respective championships and the Purebred Arabian racing’s ultimate prize, the PA Group 1 Dubai Kahayla Classic, which AF Maher clinched under O’Shea in the colors of Al Nabooda. Although Oertel has had a slow start to the 2023-24 campaign with just one win so far, AF Mathakeel obliging in a maiden at Jebel Ali two weeks ago, he is not worried. Oertel attributes the quiet start to the racing program and says that the race program at places like Al Ain doesn't suit them, which is why they've kept away.
“Our horses are fit, and they’ve been ready to run but there weren’t any races for them so there’s no use going there just to finish second and third. They’re racing three-year-olds over 1600m and UAE-bred horses cannot do that, it’s impossible because you don’t have enough time to get them ready.
“The French horses, yes, they have plenty of time. But we don’t ship our horses to France to have them trained there and then bring them back. If you do that then of course you have your horses ready for the season, but if you stay here, you can’t and for me it’s a horse welfare kind of thing. I’m not going to contradict myself by running my horses and damaging them. The horses mean more to us than that (winning).”
However, we can expect the Oertel brigade to hit their rivals hard in the coming weeks as he ominously declared, “Our three-year-olds are more forward than they were last year, and we should get a few wins with them. The season’s going well so far, I think we’ve got some nice horses, and the programme looks good for a lot of the tracks so we’re hopeful. “We’ve got a good bunch of horses for Khalid and I’ve got Tadhg again. We’ve got the whole team back and we are confident we’ll have a good season.”