Three-race meeting acknowledges special ties with Turkmenistan

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club has arranged a special three-race meeting starting at 7pm today to mark the special ties between the UAE and Turkmenistan.

The Emirates Challenge Cup, an 8-furlong handicap race for purebred Arabians, will kick-start the proceedings followed by the Turkmenistan Gold Cup, another handicap race for purebred Arabians.

The night's final event, the Ashgabat Gold Trophy, a handicap race for thoroughbreds, will complete the three-race card.

Trainer Rashid Boursely's Bab Al Bahrain will be bidding to win his second race in four days after the lightly-raced 6-year-old son of Kingmambo won here on Sunday night.

Jockey Luis Jurado steered Bab Al Bahrain to a smart win to open his own account in the UAE and will be back on duty tonight. Ali Rashid Al Raihe's Palm Court and Musabah Al Muhairi's Quorum are part of the 14-horse Ashgabat Gold Trophy field which wears a very open look.

Pursuit of hat-trick

In the first of the two races for Purebred Arabians, Eric Lemartinel's Albar Lotois, with two smart wins under his belt, will be looking to complete a hat-trick of wins. However stablemate Dahess and the Rod Simpson-trained Le Gusta Bailar along with Gillian Duffield's AF Alghabra will also be garnering a lot of support from the fans as the ‘Pick three' competition will be open tonight.

Frenchman Lemartinel has a good chance of making it a double as he saddles Baher and Wadya in the second race, both strong contenders. Gillian Duffield also has a strong pair of runners in Sakre- D'Or and Sharakka, the last named a smart winner in her last start over Muzoon De Faust.

Simpson's Jazeerat Alsadyat will also be hoping to regain the form displayed last season in this 11-furlong handicap race.