iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Nasser hospital in Khan Younis was attacked by Israeli army for over a week in February, saying Hamas was holding hostages there
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Unfancied Muffarh shines
Dubai - David Smith rode unfancied Muffarh to victory in the 1600m Thoroughbreds Handicap, the feature race of the Second Spring Meeting at the Meydan Racecourse on Saturday.
The four-year-old gelded son of Marju was perfectly poised along the fences and responded very strongly when challenged by the mount of Wayne Smith, Kavango in the concluding stages of the race. But David Smith held on courageously and prevailed by a neck ahead of his more illustrious brother Wayne Smith on the line.
UAE debutant Air Of Grace, ridden by Italian apprentice Antioco Murgia, came from nowhere to deny Seeking Glory under Royston Ffrench in the last strides of the 1400m Thoroughbreds Maiden, the opening race on the card.
Formerly trained by Mahmoud Al Zarouni in Europe, the three-year-old bay colt of Medicean has disappointed in his only start in Europe before being shifted to the Ismail Mohammed’s yard in Dubai. Mohammed said he raced once in the UAE but did not show the best of him, and it seems that the colt loved the surface.
Fantastic Dubai, who earlier won the best turned out horse trophy in the paddock, was equally the first one to cross the finish line after a nail-biting head-to-head battle against Dan Chillingworth in the 1400m Thoroughbreds Handicap, the second of the evening.
Tagh O’Shea took Dan Chillingworth to the lead as the pack turned for home with two furlongs to go followed on his heels by Fantastic Dubai. The two horses went strike for strike in the concluding stages, but Wayne Smith did the better work when it mattered and Fantastic Dubai prevailed by just a neck.
UAE trainer Ismail Mohammed completed a quick double after Ahmed Ajtebi partnered Qamar to glory in the third race, a 1200m Handicap contest for Shaikh Jumaa bin Dalmook Al Maktoum.
The four-year-old colt of Pivotal raced keenly against the fences and was always going well in the hands and heels of the UAE jockey Ahmed Ajtebi. Formerly trained by Saeed bin Suroor in Britain, the four-year-old son of Pivolt came to the UAE after being raced overseas. He won one of his two starts in a maiden contest at the Wolferhampton AW surface but he did not perform satisfactorily on UAE debut. The colt’s connections are considering sending him to race over a longer distance.
Meanwhile, the partnership of Al Muhairi-Smith claimed a double after the Irishman brought Zafeen Speed home in the colours of Jaber Abdulla to land the 1600m Thoroughbreds Handicap third race.
Zafeen Speed cruised to his third straight victory and trainer Musabah Al Muhairi said they would wait to see how he would come out of the race.
The four-year-old gelded son of Zafeen is raced by Jaber Abdulla. He disappointed in a Maiden contest on debut and finished poor fifth behind Saudi Summer. But, he returned to the track with great determination to win a handicap race last January.
Results
Race One: 6.50pm Thoroughbreds Maiden 1400m (a 7f) sponsored by Al Baste Equiworld. Purse: Dh50,000
1. Air Of Grace (Ismail Mohammed) Antioco Murgia 2. Seeking Glory (Ali Rashid Al Raihe) Royston Ffrench 3. Lord Tiger (Satish Seemar) Richard Mullen
Time: 1.26.95. Margins: HD/ 0.5L
Race Two: 7.25pm Thoroughbreds Handicap 1400m (a 7f) sponsored by Al Basti Equiworld. Purse: Dh50,000
1. Fantastic Dubai (Musabah Al Muhairi) Wayne Smith 2. Dan Chillingworth (Doug Watson) Tadhg O’Shea 3. Fingerprint (Doug Watson) Patrick Dobbs
Time: 1.26.40. Margins: NK/ 1L
Race Three: 8pm Thoroughbreds Handicap 1200m (a 6f) sponsored by Al Basti Equiworld. Purse: Dh70,000
1. Qamar (Ismail Mohammed) Ahmed Ajtebi 2. Ceedwell (Stephane Chevailer) Gregory Benoist 3. Indian Skipper (Doug Watson) Tadhg O’Shea
Time: 1.12.32. Margins: 3.25L/ 1.25L
Race Four: 8.35pm Thoroughbreds Handicap 1600m (a 8f) sponsored by Al Basti Equiworld. Purse: Dh75,000
1. Zafeen Speed (Musabah Al Muhairi) Wayne Smith 2. Dr Smart (Musabah Al Muhairi) Kieren Fallon 3. Sailorman (Ismail Mohammed) Antioco Murgia
Time: 1.38.41. Margins: 3.25L/ 0.5L
Race Five: 9.10pm Thoroughbreds Handicap 1600m (a 8f) sponsored by Al Basti Equiworld. Purse: Dh90,000
1. Mufarrh (Ali Rashid Al Raihe) David Smith 2. Kavango (Musabah Al Muhairi) Wayne Smith 3. Comradeship (Rashid Bouresly) Robert Burke
Time: 1.38.63 Margins: NKL/ 2.25L
More news from
The President was speaking at a graduation ceremony at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia
Martin Griffiths says battles near the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings in Gaza's south meant the vital routes are effectively blocked
The military launched a crackdown on the Rohingya minority there in 2017 which is now the subject of a United Nations genocide court case
Fresh signs of a cooling economy calmed inflation worries
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took third in the seventh round of the season
Six people including 90-year-old former Air Force pilot Ed Dwight will blast off to space from the Launch Site One base in west Texas
Usyk is the first boxer to become undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999