Dubai: The opening race on day one of the Dubai World Cup Carnival meeting on Thursday raises prospects of a mouth-watering renewal of the Purebred Arabian contest in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1.
Heading the 12-runner field in the Group 1 race over the 1,600-metre trip is RB Burn, winner of the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown, the world’s richest race for Arabians.
The five-year-old grey son of Majd Al Arab downed a world-class field that included Al Mourtajez, the highest rated Arabian on show, to scoop up the €1.2 million prize (Dh4.6 million) at the capital’s racetrack on his first bow in the UAE.
RB Burn arrived at the Al Asayl Stables in Abu Dhabi having campaigned in France, where he won only once in seven starts. He made a winning debut at the Houston racetrack in the United States before being flown to France. That victory was achieved on dirt and it proves he’s versatile enough to handle the dirt at the Meydan racetrack for the first time tonight.
“This [win] is very special,” Eric Lemartinel, RB Burn’s handler, said after the horse’s victory at the capital.
“I saw this horse racing in France but he didn’t always have good luck. He wore first-time blinkers today so was more concentrated.”
The triumph in Abu Dhabi was RB Burn’s third victory in nine career starts but he’s never been out of the first five, including in four Group 1 starts.
AF Mathmoon, the Dubai Kahayla Classic winner, who was three-and-half lengths in fifth behind RB Burn and subsequently runner-up to Shateh over 1400m at Meydan, is expected to be the main challenger.
He is one of the five entries in the silks of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance. The six-year-old grey son of AF Albahar will be ridden by Jim Crowley, British champion jockey and retained jockey of Shaikh Hamdan. This will be his first ride for his main patron after replacing Paul Hanagan.
AF Mathmoon is the first local bred Arabian to win the Dubai Kahayla Classic. He should come into this race fitter from the two outings and the extra 200 metres should also help him in his bid to capture the major share of the Group one prize. Of Shaikh Hamdan’s other runners — Sauternes Al Maury and Bon Baiser De Faust, both trained by UAE champion Doug Watson, should run the favourites close.
Manark, the 2015 Kahayla Classic winner, is another runner owned by Shaikh Hamdan and trained by Erwan Charpy. He is returning to the track after a gap of more than a year and it will be interesting to see if he is in the same shape and can live up to his 2015 heroics. Manark (123) is the second highest rated horse in the field behind RB Burn (124).
Shateh has been a revelation this season winning in both his starts. The draw also should suit his frontrunning style.
His record in the UAE is remarkable, where he has won four of his nine starts and finished runner-up in all others. Trained by Majid Al Jahouri, the eight-year-old chestnut son of Mahabb made a winning start to the season in the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Jewel Crown Prep Race and then followed it up with another impressive victory in the Group 2 Bani Yas.
The margin of victory speaks volumes about his ability and makes him a worthy contender. Pat Dobbs, the leading jockey with 19 winners this season, retains the ride on Shateh.
