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Double for Mubarak, Ziani

Top weight Meeriss, ridden by Kieren Fallon, made most of the running to storm unchallenged in the 1950m Shadwell Handicap, the feature of the afternoon at the Jebel Ali Racecourse on Friday.

By Hisham Al Gizouli

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Published: Sun 13 Feb 2011, 1:24 AM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 8:42 AM

The six-year-old gelded son of Dubai Destination defied the heavy weight and was always going well to lead by more than three lengths up the hill.

The first race, a 1600m Purebred Arabians UAE-Bred Conditions Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum UAE breeders Society, was won by MH Alwadi, under apprentice jockey Harry Bentley for trainer Gillian Duffield. Front-runner Knife, ridden by Jesus Rosales, came second and behind them finished the mount of Tadhg O’Shea, AF Mursid.

In the second race, a 1600m Thoroughbreds Handicap, Mureb did nothing wrong as the Elusive Quality son stored home in the hands and heels of Patrick Cosgrave to land the Emirates Line Trophy. Fares, ridden by Patrick Dobbs, was second and Mortbet took the third place honours under Kieren Fallon. Amazon River battled back very strongly under Xavier Ziani to land the 1950m Thoroughbreds Handicap in a tight finish.

The four-year-old Dalakhani colt broke nicely from stall three and showed the way before being tackled by Sarabola as the pack hit the home stretch. But Amazon River fought back in the concluding stages of the race to make it a winning seasonal reappearance at the hilly track for Kuwaiti owner and trainer Rashid Al Bouresly.

Game Stalker did the better work when it mattered up the hill in the hands and heels of Royston Ffrench to prevail by a neck on the line from the fast-finishing Glorious Gift in the 1400m Thoroughbreds Handicap fifth race on the card.

Both horses broke clear from the pack in the last two furlongs. Wayne Smith led briefly aboard Glorious Gift, but Game Stalker got up very strongly to put his head first as the pair crossed the finish line.

Ffrench said Game Stalker raced keenly and honestly and improved when asked the question to climb up the hill in great style.

The partnership of Mubarak bin Shafya and Xavier Ziani completed a double after winning the 1200m Thoroughbreds Handicap aboard Golden Shaheen.

RESULTS

Race One 2.20pm Purebred Arabians UAE-Bred Conditions Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum UAE breeders Society 1600m (a 8f) sponsored by Emirates Horse Breeder Society. Purse: Dh40,000

1. MH Al Wadi (Gillian Duffield) Harry Bentley 2. Knife (Anthony Manuel) Jesus Rosales 3. AF Mursid (Gillain Duffield) Tadhg O’Shea

Time: 1.49.53. Margins: 4.75L/ 2.75L

Race Two 2.50pm Thoroughbreds Handicap 1600m (a 8f) sponsored by Emirates Airline. Purse: Dh70,000

1. Mureb (Mubarak bin Shafya) Patrick Cosgrave 2. Fares (Doug Watson) Patrick Dobbs 3. Mortbet (Dhruba Selvaratnam) Kieren Fallon

Time: 1.38.05. Margins: 2L/ 1.5L

Race Three: 3.30pm Thoroughbreds Handicap 1950m (a 9.75f) sponsored by Shadwell. Purse: Dh110,000

1. Meeriss (Dhruba Selvaratnam) Kieren Fallon 2. Noisy Silence (Anthony Manuel) Patrick Dobbs 3. Stalking Shadow (Satish Seemar) Harry Bentley

Time: 1.59.88. Margins: 3.5L/ SHD

Race Four: 4pm Thoroughbreds Maiden 1950m (a 9.75f) sponsored by Commercial Bank of Dubai. Purse: Dh60,000

1. Amazon River (Rashed Bouresly) Robert Burke 2. Sarbola (Dhruba Selvaratnam) Kieren Fallon 2. High Comedy (Mubarak bin Shafya) Xavier Ziani

Time: 2.06.02. Margins: 0.5L/ 1.25L

Race Five: 4.30pm Thoroughbreds Handicap 1400m (a 7f) sponsored by Romeo Design. Purse: Dh65,000

1. Game Stalker (Ali Rashid Al Raihe) Royston Ffrench 2. Glorious Gift (Ahmed Al Shamsi) Wayne Smith 2. Count Paris (Abdulla bin Huzaim) Jesus Rosales Time: 1.25.27. Margins: NK/ 4L Race Six: 5pm Thoroughbreds Handicap 1200m (a 6f) sponsored by Shadwell. Purse: Dh100,000

1. Golden Shaheen (Mubarak bin Shafya) Xavier Ziani 2. Green Beret (Ali Rashid Al Raihe) Royston Ffrench 2. Effort (Abdulla bin Huzaim) Jesus Rosales

Time: 1.12.33. Margins: 1.25L/ 1.175L