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| Staff Writer |
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Trainer Ibrahim Al Hadhrami and jockey Bernardo Pinheiro had a successful outing at Al Ain on Saturday night. Their horse, Astral Del Sol, refused to return empty-handed from the UAE's Oasis City for the fifth time. Astral Del Sol competed in the feature event of the nine-race program, the Al Qattara.
Under the guidance of the Omani conditioner, Pinheiro skillfully followed the instructions given to him as he rode Hilal Al Zaman, a 6YO stallion. With great care and understanding, Pinheiro led Hilal Al Zaman to a comfortable victory, crossing the finish line two-and-a-quarter lengths ahead of Naajeeb. The latter was trained by Eric Lemartinel and ridden by Jules Mobian.
Pinheiro was initially racing mid-pack but then took the lead with Astral Del Sol after applying slight pressure. As they entered the stretch, the jockey urged the horse to perform. Despite starting from the eighth position, Astral Del Sol managed to take over the lead from AF Afham at the 200m pole and sprinted to victory with no competition. Naajeeb finished second, followed by Boraq El Medam in third place, trained by Mujeeb Rahman and ridden by Oscar Chavez.
“Ibrahim told me he's such a nice horse and so easy to ride you just have to find his momentum,” Pinheiro said.
“He told me the horse was very fit after his first run and gave me confidence. I knew the race was tough, but I had the confidence that if I found the momentum the horse would travel nicely, and I am glad.”
Although Al Hadhrami may have won the feature event, it was Musabbeh Al Mheiri and Ahmed Al Mehairbi, both Emirati trainers, who garnered the most praise for their training performances on that particular night.
In the Zakhir 1800m maiden (4yo+) race, Al Mheiri scored first on the evening, while Alarqam took the lead and won by a massive 11 lengths from Manar (Al Hadhrami/Sam Hitchcott) on his racecourse debut under defending champion O’Shea. Later in the only Thoroughbred contest of the card, Al Mheiri found success in the 1600m Falaj Hazza handicap (0-75) where Law Of Nature showed great resilience under Qais Al Busaidi to hold off a spirited challenge from Ezaj (Ahmad bin Harmash/Connor Beasley) and won by a head.
In a race over 1000m, a pair of identical maidens over the age of four followed the feature. The first of them, Al Basrah, was claimed by JAP Daeya (Royston Ffrench) owned by Irfan Ellahi by a neck from Nahaab. The second maiden, titled Al Masoudi, was won by AF La Manas owned by Qaiss Aboud.
This win brought up a first UAE victory for rider Charlie Bennett. AF La Manas was adjudged to have won by a nose from JAP Adaaj (owned by Ellahi and ridden by Richard Mullen) after the photo was called up. Khalifa Al Neyadi's Desert continued to prove a happy hunting ground for the UAE's 'Oasis City' by clinching the concluding 1000m Al Qattara handicap under apprentice Allaia Tiar by a length from JAP Al Afreet.