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Brilliant Khalidiah sprints to glory

DUBAI - Nashwan Al Khalidiah, ridden by Jean Hamel, landed the third leg of the President of the UAE Cup series in Newmarket on Wednesday. The 2,000m race featured top-rated Arabian horses in the Europe and elsewhere.

The event, which was highlighted by the Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes (Group 1) 1m, fillies’ & mares’, 3yo+, was attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, and other top officials of UAE and Arab diplomats in UK.

The Saudi raider Nashwan Al Khalidiah, a winner of six races in his 14 starts over a three-year career, was always going well hands and heels before he sprinted home impressively to emerge the easiest of winners close post.

“We are again looking forward to the enthusiasm and support of the Newmarket crowd,” Taleb Al Muhairi, General Secretary of the Emirates Equestrian Federation, said. “In fact, the British races have always been one of our main targets since the inception of the series in 1994.”

The first race of this year’s President of the UAE Cup series was run at the Abu Dhabi Irish Guineas Festival at the Curragh in May. Saint-Cloud was the second stopover for the series and after Paris the third edition was staged at the Moscow Hippodrome in Russia. The series also includes races in Newmarket and Ascot in the UK, and at Keeneland in the US.

Meanwhile, Shaikh Mohammed praised the splendid form displayed by the UAE filly Music Show after her impressive victory in the Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes (Group 1).

The Mick Channon-trained was believed to be drawn on the ‘wrong’ side in the 1,000Guineas before being set too much to do in both the Irish Guineas and Coronation Stakes last time.

The next target for the filly according to Channon would be to take on the best fillies’ with a shot at Goldikova top of his list.

He said: “We always believed she was the best three-year-old filly in the country but sometimes the faith falls away — but with this filly it never did. In both Guineas she was trapped out wide and then when she was beaten as Ascot I was in bits.”

Of future plans, he added: “She’ll probably go for the Matron (on September 4) and then have a go at Goldikova, I really want a crack at them. I don’t want to take on the colts, they look pretty good and I wouldn’t have Hughesie.

“We’ll have to see about an international campaign next year. I’d like to keep her next year and to step her up to a mile and a quarter.”

“You get beat every day but with that race nothing went right and I’m not blaming Ryan (Moore) because that’s just where she was drawn.

“We’ve beaten all the fillies that have beaten us (today), the only one that we haven’t is Jacqueline Quest so we’ll have to take on her!”