Dubai: Buoyed by his first success in the UAE with Diamond Stripes, owner Abbas Masri has promised to come back next year and compete for more glory on Dubai World Cup day.
"This has been such an amazing debut for us here in Dubai," the Florida-based co-owner of Diamond Stripes told Gulf News.
The five-year-old gelding is owned by Abbas and his brother Kassem, who was unable to make the trip from Florida this year. "But he will be here with us next year," Abbas promised.
Dream start
The brothers, of Lebanese origin, bought the gelding at the September sales last year.
"And we were not wrong in our purchase. He has proved to us today that he is best suited for the mile," Abbas stated.
For Abbas, this was a dream start in Dubai. "I am so excited about this win. My brother must be watching and he will be thrilled too," he said.
The owner disclosed that they had been targeting Dubai for the past six months.
"We owe our thanks to His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai," Abbas said.
"I am so pleased that he invited us and we decided to make this long trip."
Winning jockey Edgar Prado was over the moon with the quality performance from the horse.
"He tries hard and that is his quality. The race developed beautifully," Prado said.
"But my instructions were clear... I had to stick to the leaders and then make the break after the turn."
Challenged
The gelding was challenged at the turn, however given his superior stride, there was absolutely no chance the rest of the pack would catch him.
"He's a huge striding horse and once he was past the bend and in the lead, I knew there was no way anyone was going to catch him," Abbas added.
Winning jockey Edgar Prado was over the moon with the quality performance from the horse. The gelding was challenged at the turn, but given Diamond Stripes' superior stride there was absolutely no chance the rest of the pack would catch him.
