UAE trainer’s championship hotting up

Dubai: With the 2012-2013 UAE Trainer’s Championship poised on a knife-edge Emirati handler Ali Rashid Al Raihe is pulling out all the stops as he bids to defend his crown of three years at Thursday’s Gulf News-sponsored race meeting at Meydan.

Just four domestic meetings remain before the season culminates in the Dubai World Cup extravaganza on March 30 and there is all top play for as title race builds to an exciting finish.

Al Raihe, who has strung together three straight championships since the 2009-2010 season, holds a particularly strong hand in four of the evening’s six races with last-outing winner Ukranian taken to land the feature race — the Gulf News Handicap over 2200m on the Tapeta.

The veteran handler is well aware of the treath posed by Al Asayl based Ernst Oertel as goes into Thursday’s meeting trailing his rival by one win.

Oertel, who has enjoyed a dream season as the man in charge of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s racing stables, has landed 30 winners since opening his account on November 12 with Richly Blessed,

Snapping at the heels of Oertel and Al Raihe are the Oasis 1 Stables handler Musabah Al Muhairi with 30 wins and Zabeel Stables’ maestro Satish Seemar on 29.

Thursday’s concluding domestic meeting at Meydan will go a long way in determining who will be crowned champion trainer at the end of the season, with only Sharjah (March 16), Abu Dhabi (March 17) and Jebel Ali (March 22) still to come.

“The championship means a lot, not just to me, but to my whole team,” acknowledged Al Raihe. “It is a reward for all the hard work that goes into training horses. All season we have worked hard to keep our horses fit and happy and to ensure that they are in the best possible shape when they arrive at the racecourse.

“However, everyone deserves the success they can get and I think the next few race meetings will be very interesting. I am feeling the pressure, but its a nice feeling.”

Interesting, is perhaps the best word to describe Thursday’s card with the feature looking to be an ultra-competitive event.

Al Raihe’s Ukrainian seems to have struck a purple patch and can follow up his course and win from four weeks ago, while the Doug Watson-trained Udabaa, Mantoba and Enery looking the main threats.

Paul Hanagan rides Udabaa, also a course and distance winner, while stable jockey Pat Dobbs partners Dr Faustus. Dane O’Neill is slated in for duty aboard Mantoba.

Assessing the chances of his trio Watson said: “They have run some good races between them this season and this looks the ideal final race of the season for them as they are not likely to go to Jebel Ali next week.

“Udabaa won well two starts ago when we had a 1-2-3 in the race and he goes well on the all-weather.

“Mantoba and Dr Faustus have run against each other a few times this season, winning one apiece at Abu Dhabi. Dr Faustus has won at Meydan on this surface and I just hope all three can run well in a competitive little race.”

Earlier, 13 go to post in the Friday Handicap over 1200m, among them the Satish Seemar-trained Dubai Iconic who drops back in trip for the first time.

Stable jockey Richard Mullen elaborated: “He travels strongly and was not really getting home over 1600m, but won well back at 1400m last time. After that we thought he would be worth a try over 1200m so this has been the plan since then.”

Seemar also saddles Kaiss, a winner on his last start at Jebel Ali.

Al Muhairi, who finished runner-up to Al Raihe in the championship last season, runs three including Jebel Ali scorer Muarrab who will be ridden by Paul Hanagan.

The Emirati handler, who has been a dominant force at Jebel Ali where he has sent out 21 winners, also saddles Discoverer and Sand Stamp.

Racing starts at 6.35pm and entrance is free to the public areas of Meydan.