Newbury, UK: Muraaqib may have had just four runs in his career but he is already being touted as one of the best Purebred Arabians to ever grace the racecourse.
Trained by Francis Rouhat in France, the five-year-old son of Munjiz can reinforce that hypotheses by completing back-to-back wins in the Group 1 Shadwell Dubai International Stakes, the showpiece event of a glittering eight-race card to be staged at the historic Newbury Racecourse in Surrey, England on Sunday.
Raced by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, Muraaqib comes into the event with strong form having won the Group 1 Coupe D’europe Arab Group 1 at Deauville, France, in May this year.
That was an outstanding performance considering he was having his first start after an absence of 387 days. He will be ridden by British champion jockey Jim Crowley, Shaikh Hamdan’s retained rider, for the first time in his career.
Muraaqib faces six rivals including another Shaikh Hamdan-owned contender, Awzaan, who is trained by James Owen in the UK. Shaikh Hamdan’s second retained jockey Dane O’Neil takes the ride.
The Shadwell Dubai International Stakes is supported by a strong card featuring two other Group 1 contests, the Jebel Ali Racecourse Za’abeel International Stakes, a six-furlong sprint, and the Shadwell Arabian Stallion Hatta International Stakes over a mile.
In addition, the card includes the Group 2 Emirates Equestrian Federation International Stakes over 1,400m with three other strong handicaps completing a mouth-watering day’s racing.
Several records are expected to be rewritten at the meeting, widely regarded as the finest day’s racing for Purebred Arabian horses anywhere in the world.
The popular eight-race event has attracted a record 86 runners, including six defending champions from last year’s races.
Among them are as many as 17 winners from the innovative 18-event prep-race programme devised as a build-up to the meeting.
In addition, a record 26 international runners from France, Belgium, Italy and Holland will compete with Purebred Arabian horses based in the UK to vie for a record prize fund of £193,000 (Dh931,386) the richest since the DIAR was first held at Newbury in 2003.
The DIAR 2017 programme of 18 ‘Preparation Races’ helped encourage international runners to qualify for Sunday’s mega event. DIAR’s sponsorship began with races in Italy in May, before events in the UK, Sweden, France and the Netherlands.
Most significantly, 2017 will see an increase in prize money for the event, as well as the renewal of the travel allowances for international runners competing on that day.
The bonus scheme is now well established in the DIAR programme: horses that finish first, second or third in any of the ‘Preparation Races’ will be eligible to compete for a bonus on Sunday.
The prize money for this year’s eight races of £193,000 is an increase of £13,000 on 2016 following a similar rise last year, with all four Group races on the programme benefiting.
The Group 2 PA Emirates Equestrian Federation International Stakes has received a 20 per cent boost and is now worth £25,000, and the day’s featured Group 1 PA Shadwell Dubai International Stakes increased by £3,000 to £58,000. The Jebel Ali Racecourse Za’abeel International Stakes and the Shadwell Arabian Stallions Hatta International Stakes, both Group 1 PA events, increase from £32,500 to £35,000.
Racing UK, the country’s leading satellite horse racing channel, will provide live coverage of the entire card which gets under way with the Emirates Premier Handicap at 5.05pm (UAE time). All races will be available to view online via www.aroracing.co.uk, the Arabian Racing Organisation’s website.
