Sunday 11th March saw the season penultimate race meeting at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club. Six out of the seven races were PA races and one TB-maiden race the Shahama. The highlight of the day was the Riyadh Handicap which was run over 2200m for prize money of AED 85,000. Af Mahshoum took an early lead and maintained it till almost the last bend but his rider Jim Crowley could not control his fatigue and lost his lead to Jesar who was ridden by De Sousa. He was quick to grab the opportunity provided. Jesar took the lead in the final 200m and won the race ahead of Mukaram who came second and Af Mahshoum had to settle for third.
De Sousa said: “It is the first time I have ridden him but he is a lovely horse and one who would appreciate even further judged on that performance. The jockey added: “It is only his second outing on turf since arriving in the UAE and, after two runs on dirt, he has clearly relished it.He had some decent form on grass and over this kind of trip in Europe, so I imagine connections will be looking for similar races, perhaps next season.”
The one TB race was the 1400m maiden was fought fiercely in the beginning but none of the early leaders could maintain their lead and Muqaatil ridden by De Sousa again took an late lead at the 300m mark and stayed ahead to win his second race of the night. He was followed by Nobelium ridden by Gerald Avranche and King's Shadow ridden Antonio Fresu who came in second and third respectively.
“He does seem happier on turf than dirt so this looked a good opportunity for him. De Sousa said: "He was running on over further last week so I was happy to be quite positive in him and confident he would stay. Hopefully now he has that first win to his name he can progress from here.”
The day started with a 1600m maiden which was fought in a gritty fashion by leaders AF Esnad and Tawazun, who were head to head till almost 300m were left when suddenly Morjanah Al Reef could be spotted taking a leap and overtaking the leaders to win this race. Morjanah Al Reef came in first under Fernando Jara. Tawazun ridden by Tadhg O'Shea and Af Esnad ridden De Sousa came in second and third respectively. De Sousa had to settle for a third in this one but covered in the later part of the day.
Having her sixth career start, she certainly looks likely to stay further and Jara said: “It was a good finish in the end and I was worried I would not get to Tawazun but then my filly really gave everything in the final stages.”
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By Apurva Chavan, Racing Writer, apurva.chavan@secretariatsworld.com