The Meydan show begins tonight with six-race card

Dubai - The most valuable race is the 2000-metre Emirates A380 Handicap for horses rated 84 to 99 and worth Dh170,000.

By Hisham Al Gizouli

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Published: Thu 5 Nov 2015, 8:47 PM

The gates open at Meydan tonight with the traditional opener, a six-race card sponsored by Emirates Airlines.
The most valuable race is the 2000-metre Emirates A380 Handicap for horses rated 84 to 99 and worth AED170,000.
The Fazza Stables trainer Salem bin Ghadayer is double-handed with Torchlighter and Hunters Creek, and the former carrying the first colours under stable jockey Royston Ffrench.
Doug Watson has a trio entered, with Jeeraan and Etijah, both owned by Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, whose retained jockey, Dane O'Neill, elects to ride the former. "Jeeraan is in great shape and going very nicely at home," said Watson. "He has enjoyed a great preparation and has had a clear run into the race. He should run well.
"Etijaah is slightly wrong at the weights but he loves the track and has a lovely low weight. Hopefully he can be competitive also."
Watson also saddles Zain Eagle, making his debut for the yard and the mount of stable jockey, Pat Dobbs.
"He has been handling the dirt well at home in his work," added the American. "Obviously a race is a different matter and it will be interesting to see how he gets on as he struggled on the surface on his one previous effort last season.
"He is a nice new horse in the yard and if he handles the surface it will give us plenty of extra options." Watson is also double handed in the next, a handicap run over 1,600, with top weight Nathr ridden by O'Neill for owner Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid, and Famous Warrior.
Nathr ran twice last year, unplaced in his first start at Jebel Ali and runner-up at Al Ain in the next. The American bred four-year-old son of Dixie Union can go one better on his first start at Meydan.
Action begins with a maiden that has drawn 12 runners and run over 1,400m. The remaining five are handicaps.
Meanwhile, according to a Press release, the races bring with them one more way for racegoers to win instant cash via a new competition. The Superfecta competition, which is played on the final race of the evening, offers an AED 5,000 cash prize to be divided among any players who correctly select the first four placed horses according to the official order of finish.
More than AED266,000 was claimed by racegoers during the 2014-15 season across the ever-popular Pick Six, Early, Middle and Late Tricast and the Triple Tricast competitions.
Meydan's Executive Director of Racing, Frank Gabriel, said: "We are always looking for ways to add to our racenight offering and enhance the experience of being at the races. While we are not underestimating the challenge of this new game, the reward is there for any of our racegoers who chose to take it on."


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