Al Kurdi emerges as top gun

Mazin Al Kurdi's winners are emerging one after the other. And the sight of the Millennium Stables handler excitedly running into the parade ring to bring them in should be enough to convince his rivals that he has genuine championship aspirations.

The massive investment Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum has made in providing Al Kurdi with a large scale string of Thoroughbreds and Arabians is already paying rich dividends.

The former two-time Syrian champion has upstaged the big names to top the trainer's standings with 16 wins and prize money in excess of Dh.1 million.

What happens over the next four months is bound to be interesting.

Australian handler John Sadler is also challenging hard, and with Al Kurdi having emerged as a force to reckon with, the established brigade of reigning champion-trainer Erwan Charpy, three-time champions Satish Seemar and Kiaran McLaughlin, Paddy Rudkin and Allan Smith have their work cut out.

But does Al Kurdi believe he can take on the big boys, and beat them?

"It will be very hard but I will certainly try," is his honest reaction.

"If things continue to be as good as they are I think I can challenge for the title. I have the horses and the support of Sheikh Rashid. All I need is some luck."

However, it appears that Lady Luck has already committed her allegiance to Al Kurdi, who has nailed two of the big Pattern races this season - the Dh350,000 Tawi Murghem at Nad Al Sheba with Conflict and the Dh350,000 Jebel Ali Stakes with Clodion.

Conflict, who was formerly trained by the now departed Nick Robb, is arguably one of the best milers the emirates has seen. In 2000 he won the Godolphin Mile and the following year the Jebel Ali Mile. Then last season he landed the inaugural running of the Burj Nahaar.

Together with Clodion, Conflict represents the might of Al Kurdi's 72-strong stable.

"I'm lucky to have genuine horses like Conflict and Clodion in my stable," says Al Kurdi. "Conflict will run in the Maktoum Challenge and Clodion in the Dubai City of Gold and the Dubai Sheema Classic."

Another of Al Kurdi's stars is the four-race winner Estimraar, who has made giant strides up the handicap ranks and is now being seen as a possible Maktoum Challenge candidate.

"He's really improved with every run," says Al Kurdi. "He's bigger and stronger and I think he deserves to run in better company. We'll find some nice races for him, possibly the Maktoum Challenge."

Other Al Kurdi stars includes Blazing Ability, Ocean Star, Rasmussen, Nobelist and the Arabians Al Saham Al Fuddi, Taj Al Moulouk, Klovis DeNerak and Mufaq.

But the real star of the Millennium Stables has got to be Al Kurdi himself, who has steadily risen up the ranks ever since his first season back in 1998-99, which yielded a modest five winners.

The turning point came last season when he secured 14 winners and saw 40 other runners finish in the money. Sheikh Rashid was so impressed with his commitment, and capacity to succeed, that he gave him 50 thoroughbreds to train over the summer.

"I'm really thankful to Sheikh Rashid," says Al Kurdi. "Without the horses I would be nobody. But now that I have them I want to ensure that we achieve maximum results.

"Wayne (Smith) is a very good rider and I am lucky to have a good team, and facilities at the Millennium Stables. When the season started my goal was to win between 20-30 races. Now I think we can do even better."

There's no conflicting that statement.