AF Lafeh blunts Knife in close finish at Sharjah

Sharjah: Knife was denied a second consecutive victory in the Ruler Of Sharjah Cup, the highlight of Saturday's race meeting at the Sharjah Racing & Equestrian Club, when he was beaten close to home by AF Lafeh, trained by Gill Duffield and ridden by Tadhg O'Shea.

Duffield, who had similarly been denied in a photo finish over the same course and distance on her last visit to Sharjah, said: "It is great to win this valuable prize and more than makes up for his narrow defeat the last time he ran here. We actually won the first race today in a photo finish as well so it has been a good afternoon." The winner is owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.

Meanwhile, Tejaara also carried the colours of Shaikh Hamdan to victory in a 1,200 metre maiden at the meeting, which was sponsored by Al Tayer Motors.

Harry Bentley rode the winner for Duffield with Erwan Charpy saddling the runner-up, Udjidora De Bozouls.

Ample compensation

Charpy soon gained ample compensation with the easy win of Versac Py and Richard Hills in the following 2,700 metre maiden.

Hills was riding for his main patron, Shaikh Hamdan, completing an early double and Charpy said: "We were perhaps a bit unlucky in the first but have made no mistake here. He is a nice little horse and clearly stays well as that was a track record."