Taqneen triumphs

AL AIN - Badira De Monlau a gap of 12 lengths in front of Djelila Al Mels to turn it into a one-horse race and give trainer Helal Al Alawi his second win of the night in the 1800m PA Maiden third race on the card.

Taqneen, ridden by Dane O'Neill, kicked away from the rest of the field to win the 1,600m Remah TB Handicap by more than four lengths, ahead of runner up Burnt Bavlova, at Al Ain Racecourse on Friday.
Trained by Ali Rashid Al Raihe, on behalf of leading international horse breeder and owner, Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, the gelded son of Cape Cross was never disgraced in defeat in his two UAE starts at Meydan. But, the owner's first jockey Paul Hanagan opted to go for stable companion Tartoor, who has finished disappointingly 12th in what could be described as a non-competitive race.
"He is a well-bred dirt horse with a very good pedigree, but did not find his steps in Europe where most of the races are staged on turf or synthetic surfaces. We have received him late in the season and he has to struggle to improve his form. I think he will be very useful for next season," A Raihe said.
Leading apprentice jockey Hector Crouch gave Naiem everything that he needed to get up in the final stages of the 1400m PA Wathba Stud Farm Cup For Private Owners Only, to do the better work when it mattered and prevail by a length to the run of the judge in the opening event on the card.
"He is a top performer and fought back well when challenged by Sand Champ close home," said the winning jockey later.
Trainer Helal Al Alawi was excited and said: "I have expected him to win because he is training nicely and relishes Al Ain's dirt track where he has already stamped his mark with a good win. I think it is a good start to the day and let us pray for more successes to come," he said.
Badira De Monlau a gap of 12 lengths in front of Djelila Al Mels to turn it into a one-horse race and give trainer Helal Al Alawi his second win of the night in the 1800m PA Maiden third race on the card.
"She is a nice filly," said Royston Ffrench who steered the filly home. "I have been doing very little to push her and she was picking up very easily," he added.
Trainer Hilal Al Alawi celebrated the brilliant performance of his filly in his own way and said: "She is a class filly, but I had to send her to this low profile race in order to taste the flavor of winning. I'm confident she will be very competent in the big races," he added.
Royston Ffrench rode a quick double after he teamed up with trainer Mohammed Ramadan to bring ES Kwashi home in a tight finish.