Dubai: The friendly rivalry that has come to characterise racing in the UAE was very much in evidence on Tuesday as Jebel Ali Racecourse, announced the sponsors for their penultimate meeting of the 2015-2016 season.
In a light-hearted moment, Grandstand Stables’ Ali Rashid Al Raihe and Dhruba Selvaratnam, long-serving master at Jebel Ali, traded friendly punches as they talked up the chances of their respective contenders for the Listed Dh500,000 Jebel Ali Sprint, the feature event at Friday’s race meeting.
Al Raihe saddles Kasb against the Selvaratnam trio of United Color, Morawij and new-recruit Speed Hawk.
“You may have three horses but we’ll still beat you with one horse, Kasb,” the Emirati told Selvaratnam in jest. “Our horse is in good form and comes into the race on the back of a good run at Meydan (3rd behind Marking).
“He will appreciate the drop in trip to five furlongs, which looks to be his best distance.”
Selvaratnam, who won the 1000m contest four years in succession between 1994-97) with Faltaat, Satank and Try Prospect (twice), named United Color as the having the best chance among his trio of horses.
“I thought he ran a very good race last time in the prep,” said the veteran handler. “We fancied Morawij’s chances on the day, but he proved the better of the pair. He loves his racing and we hope that they can go close again on Friday.
“It’s hard to be confident of Speed Hawk as we have only had him for a week. We know that he has the speed and is a consistent type, but we will still have to wait and see how he runs.”
It’s not the first time Al Raihe has kept sponsors, guests and members of the media entertained with his great sense of humour and honesty having lit up several conferences that he has attended this season.
No one could have put it more plainly that the veteran Emirati horseman who, in his assessment of the Jebel Ali Sprint, said: “It looks like a good race on Friday and the best horse will win!”
The press conference was attended by Mirza Al Sayegh, Director of the office of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, who sponsors five races on the card through his breeded arm, Shadwell, Salah Talak, Dubai Duty Free Senior Vice-President, Shareef Al Halawani, Manager Jebel Ali Racecourse and ERA representative Yasir Mabrouk, who co-ordinated the interviews in Arabic and English.
On behalf of Shaikh Ahmad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Chief of Dubai Police and Public Security, Al Halawani thanked Shaikh Hamdan and Dubai Duty Free for their continuous support of racing at Jebel Ali and in helping maintain the high standards that have been set at the family-style race course.
