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| Staff Writer |
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In an unexpected turn of events leading up to the final leg of the Al Ain Marathon Series, Uday, trained by an Omani, was lifted home late by apprentice Adam Al Balushi in a thrilling climax. The Al Ain Marathon was dubbed as the 'Coronation' meeting, and everyone was ready to crown a new marathoner due to the absence of defending champion Al Mahbooba, who missed the race despite being declared for it two weeks ago, which was later marred by torrential rains.
On race day, Dennis O'Brien's well-fancied Hakeem was also withdrawn, leading many to believe that second leg scorer Loolwa (Bernardo Pinheiro/Musabbeh Al Mheiri) had been handed a free pass. However, the favorite folded tamely with over 1000m left to travel, and the race took a different turn.
In the final le of the Marathon series, it was the two Abdallah Al Hammadi runners, Ozone Layer and Oxford, who took the lead. As the race progressed, Oxford extended his lead in the home stretch, leaving Uday with a lot of catching up to do. However, Uday's jockey Al Moatesem Al Balushi, who was recording his first win in the Emirates, kept his focus and managed to catch up with Oxford, winning the race by a neck in a thrilling finish. This was Uday's first victory after several runs on the Abu Dhabi turf over 2200m.
The Prestige Al Ain Sprint was dominated by Irfan Ellahi's veteran JAP Hadad, steered by jockey Royston Ffrench. Defeating strong competition, the experienced sprinter surged to victory by a commanding four-and-a-half lengths. This win crowned a stellar campaign, starting with a modest handicap triumph at Sharjah in December the previous year. Since then, the eight-year-old sprinter has continued his winning streak, triumphing in a 1200m handicap at Abu Dhabi and recently conquering both course and distance in mid-February.
It was apparent that the winner struggled to keep up with the pace set by the eventual runner-up Namrood (Jules Mobian/Al Mheiri) and third placegetter Leena (Pinheiro/Al Jahoori), who were setting aggressive fractions from the front. However, Ffrench's mount made a stunning comeback in the final two furlongs by darting towards the near side, overtaking all contenders to clinch victory. This was yet another impressive display of acceleration from the seasoned veteran who is expected to surpass the century mark in official ratings.
In the 1600m filly and mare only maiden, O'Shea rode Ernst Oertel's AF Thwarty to a comfortable five-and-a-half length win, extending his lead to four points over his closest competitor, Connor Beasley, in the jockeys' championship table. Despite finishing second in a couple of recent races, AF Thwarty was unstoppable, as she took the lead from the start and maintained it throughout the race. Al Delhab (Richard Mullen/Qaiss Aboud) managed to finish second, but it was too late to catch up to the winner.
Rajih Surprises in 2000m Maiden Race
In the 2000m maiden, YAS Racing had seven runners competing out of the 11 declared for the race. Despite having proven horses like Zayd (Bernardo Pinheiro/Majed Al Jahoori) in the race, Rajih, the local debutant for trainer Eric Lemartinel and rider Jules Mobian, surprised everyone by winning with a 13-length lead. The four-year-old colt had previously been unsuccessful in seven attempts when trained in France, but he dominated the race from the front and left his rivals behind. Ss Alahwas (Sam Hitchcott/Ibrahim Al Hadhrami) finished second, just ahead of Zayd.
An apprentice jockey proved to be the star of the show, not just in the feature race, but also in other races on the card. In the opening contest, a 2000-meter maiden, Allaia Tiar, an up-and-coming jockey, rode Khalifa Al Neyadi's Qaisar to victory. The lightly raced seven-year-old gelding easily outclassed the opposition, winning by a massive 15 lengths. The local debutant, Da'ahi (ridden by Mobian and trained by Lemartinel), finished second, way behind the winner.
Later in the day, Marcelino Rodrigues took the reins and guided Es Lattam to victory in the 0-90-rated 2000-meter handicap. The Hamad Al Marar-trained winner, who was making his first start since December, was in fine form as he won by a comfortable length-and-three-quarters from Maador (ridden by Sandro Paiva and trained by Helal Alalawi), taking his seasonal tally to two victories.
Connor Beasley, usually the first choice for Al Hadhrami's horses in the UK, was unavailable, so Omani rider Saif Al Balushi took the reins on stable favorite Pharitz Dubai in the 2000m 0-75 rated handicap. Despite some idling when leading 200m from the finish, they managed to hold off a late challenge from AF Alhazem, winning by just a head.
Saif Almarar's Badraan Baynounah, trained by Saif Almarar, secured its first win in the 1000m maiden race under Paiva, narrowly defeating Barari Al Wathba owned by Al Wathba Racing.
Trainer Qaiss Aboud celebrated his third victory at Al Ain in as many meetings as JR Patriot edged out AF Muhem in the 0-75 rated 1400m handicap, winning by half a length under Mullen's guidance.