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| Staff Writer |
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The highly anticipated Purebred Arabian Sir Baniyas Beach Handicap features a field of fourteen with five runners from last week's Gr.3 Al Ruwais. Among them is Inqath, trained by Sulaiman Al Ghunaimi, who finished third in the Gr.3 event and is poised to give the trainer a much-needed win in the UAE this season.
Despite being checked for a run 400m out, Inqath covered plenty of ground and grabbed the bronze medal on the wire. This run sets a high benchmark for the upcoming contest, and Inqath is very much among the favorites.
AF Majalis, trained by Ernst Oertel, is another leading contender in the race with a sixth-place finish in the same Gr.3 event. The four-time course winner looks to have all the components in his favor, especially with Tadgh O'Shea in the saddle and is a strong prospect in this race.
Oertel's other entry, AF Maqam, will be ridden by Pat Dobbs and has already won over course and distance. Although the six-year-old hasn't won a race this season from four starts, he ran creditably behind Eyjabi in a Jebel Ali handicap.
Unleashed, a 5YO mare partnered by Richard Mullen, is also worth keeping an eye on. She found Meydan's Gr.3 event too challenging but finished fifth in a Conditions event over course and distance before that.
Al ghabraa, ridden by Oscar Chavez, is another horse to watch. She was second behind Unleashed in the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship last term and finished third on her seasonal reappearance behind two progressive horses in a hotly contested Conditions race. She may find this assignment more to her liking.
The final race of the card features last week's Gr.3 winner Arabian Tale, which looks like the form pick. However, Energetic, who tried to lead in that race before tiring in the final furlong, managed to hold off all the rivals that were re-opposing. Nonetheless, he had a 2.5kgs allowance advantage due to apprentice Qais Al Busaidi and is not well-weighted here, making him an opposable candidate.
Trainer Bhupat Seemar has three contenders in the race, out of which O'Shea has chosen Maputo. He broke his maiden at Al Ain last year but has been trying to negotiate the steep rise in his rating this season. Although he showed some promise at Meydan when trying to lead all the way, his subsequent run at Al Ain was disappointing.
Andrew Slattery's mount, Fall Of Rome, and Sandro Paiva's mount, Private Signal, complete the trio. Fall Of Rome has been more productive in the UAE and has shown some promise of late. As this is not a strong handicap, he should be there once again.
Mohamed Mardood is still in search of a winner this season, but he came close to opening his account last week with Chef De Partie. Although there is no Chef De Partie here, he sends out French import Solar Science, who has failed to make an impression in two starts in the Emirates. However, this race sees a sharp drop in class for him.
The card also includes five other races, featuring maidens and handicaps over varying trips and categories, which promise to be highly competitive.