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| Rowan Anderson |
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Abu Dhabi played host to a six-race card highlighted by the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship which put the talented thoroughbreds centre stage.
In the final of the card and worth AED 380,000, the Listed contest run over 2200m attracted a field of seven runners.
Before the race the 6YO gelded son of Farhh, Away He Goes, trained by Ismail Mohammed had been campaigning against some of the best stayers in Europe over the last two summers and the talk grew about his chances with a drop in class in this race.
With Antonio Fresu the horse would run second by 1.25 lengths in his first UAE appearance since he was third to Subjectivist in the 2021 Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup over 3200m at Meydan.
Wickywickywheels was the victor with Tadhg O’Shea on board and trained under the master hand of Bhupat Seemar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wcy5rAklB4
Sitting patiently until there was 300m left of the journey O’Shea peeled out on the 4YO filly five deep and slipped away to take the race in great fashion.
In her local debut the daughter of The Carbon Unit announced herself after making it six wins for the year of which five victories were in owner James Mearns Long’s native Scotland.
Expect more success to come if this ride and win are any thing to go by, as hoop O’Shea said post-race the team are very excited for the campaign.
“That is a wonderful result for the yard and a very enthusiastic owner/breeder. We are all delighted.”
“She is a special filly and we think she is very good. We have a plan mapped out at the carnival, as long as she stays sound. I have all the family so, as a breeder, this is a big result and just brilliant,” owner Long added.
O’Shea completed the riding double with the final race of the card after earlier winning the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship Purebred Arabian – a Listed contest but for 3YO’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GadUEg7GvBc
Attracting a field of 16 it was the colt by Valiant Boy, Unleashed, under O’Shea who came away with the spoils making it two wins from four starts over the past year.
Tracking the leaders, it pulled out with 200m left to travel and won by a neck in what seemed a dominant display by the handy hoop.
“I had a lovely tow into the race and then, once we were in front, he perhaps idled a bit but I was always confident we were going to hold on. This fellow will probably be better over a bit further,” O’Shea said.
Pat Dobs was not going to let O’Shea come away with everything his way with himself leaving the Abu Dhabi track with a double for himself.
In race four of the night, a 2200m handicap, Dobbs added to his case of being one of the best on the back of an Arabian by winning on board the 5YO Only Smoke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWbrTuxvhCI
The Valiant Boy entire made it a third career victory after 13 starts but a first on turf at the fifth attempt.
“The plan was actually to make the running but the leader went plenty quick enough so I was happy enough to take a lead and then we had the gap when we needed after he which he has galloped home strongly,” Dobbs said of the ride.
The hoop would take a race-to-race double aboard Suny Du Loup in the UAE Arabian Derby, sporting the silks of Hamad Al Murshed Khamis Al Marar who also trains the colt, now a winner four times from ten outings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmxLlNZTpVM
“He is a nice horse who has a turn of foot and I was probably in front too soon. You could drop him in trip as he has plenty of natural pace. I like him,” Dobbs said.
The wins pushed O’Shea to 25 wins for the season and Dobbs to 17, both having surpassed the million-dollar mark in race earnings for the period.
By Rowan Anderson