Sport | Horse Racing
Mizzna and Shadiyda sparkle
Eric Lemartinel's star runners Mizzna and Shadiyda sparkled at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race course on Sunday night to give the Frenchman a double, while jockey Tadhg O'Shea also collected a double to jointly lead the jockey's championship with Ted Durcan.
- By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:31 March 4, 2008
- Mizzna, ridden by Tadhg O'Shea, canters to victory in the Liwa Oasis (Group 1) Purebred Arabians at Abu Dhabi Equestrian and Racing Club on Sunday.
- Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: Eric Lemartinel's star runners Mizzna and Shadiyda sparkled at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race course on Sunday night to give the Frenchman a double, while jockey Tadhg O'Shea also collected a double to jointly lead the jockey's championship with Ted Durcan.
On a night when some interesting races thrilled the crowd, Gillian Duffield's AF Asasi was a surprise winner of the Emirates Colts Classic while Erwan Charpy's Skywards won the only race for thoroughbreds.
However, all eyes were on the Lermartinel pair Mizzna and Shadiyda with the former recording back-to-back wins in the Liwa Oasis (Group 1) race on Sunday. Mizzna, who scored her fourth straight win this season, however, did give her large band of fans a scare when she was not part of the leaderboard as the runners headed for home.
Gillian Duffield's Tashreefat under Martin Dwyer led the pack and it was not until the final furlong that O'Shea managed to found a gap for Mizzna. Like her champion mother Alanudd, Mizzna displayed her class as she quickened her pace and burst through to win by half a length from the Duffield runner.
Earlier in the third race, Shadiyda won his sixth race in eight starts after being reunited with Gerald Avranche to give Lemartinel the first of his double win.
"I think Mizzna will now go for the Kahayla Classic while Shadiyda will either go for the Emirates Challenge or the Kahayla depending on what the connections want," said Lemartinel, after Mizzna's win.
Stunning success
In between Lemartinel's double, Gillian Duffield's AF Asasi, under Willie Supple, stunned stablemate and favourite AF Qa'ed to score a smart win in the Emirates Colts Classic (Prestige). It was the 4-year-old Al Sabke colt's first win in three starts and also ensured Duffield did not return empty-handed on a busy night.
Erwan Charpy snapped up his 20th winner of the season when Skywards under Tadhg O'Shea scored against some classy rivals in the Fujairah Handicap (70-95).
The win helped O'Shea complete his double and also took him to 23 winners, the same as Ted Durcan.
Keagan Latham continued his impressive run when he scored on Early Morning, the James Frazier-trained four-year-old filly just about managing to keep her head in front of a fast-finishing Dhuha W'rsan (Gaven Birrer up) from Jaci Wickham's yard.
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