Racing on Dubai's second race track at Jebel Ali was highlighted by a 1400m conditions race won by Mystique Moon. The colt who was earlier owned by Godolphin recorded his second victory of the season under Pat Dobbs.
The 5YO Shamardal gelding for the first time, made smooth progress at halfway before sprinting past Draco, who kept on well for second, passing the 300m pole after which the result was never in doubt.
Out of luck with Draco, the ‘home team’ of racecourse patron His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Nicholas Bachalard who trains the owner’s horses on the Jebel Ali track and stable jockey Chris Hayes only had to wait 30 minutes for some compensation with the smooth success of Salayel in a 1200m conditions race for 3-year-olds. One of two fillies in the field of nine, all of whom were maidens at the outset, she fulfilled the promise of her second four weeks ago in a similar race, over 1000m, won by subsequent Meydan Classic Trial winner Golden Jaguar.
A 3-year-old daughter of Bated Breath, she was purchased for €200,000 as a juvenile at Goresbridge in May and this was her third career start having struggled on debut in a 1600m fillies’ maiden at Meydan in December.
The opening 1950m maiden was won in determined fashion by River Of Gold who, having tracked early leader Compliance throughout the first part of the race, was sent for home fully 300m out by Tadhg O’Shea, but only finally saw off that determined rival in the final 75m. From the back, both Wings Of Gold and Sword Of Truth were finishing well, but unable to deny Compliance who hung on grimly for the second. Trained by Satish Seemar for Nasir Askar, the winner, a 4-year-old gelded son of New Approach, was having his sixth career start, fifth for new connections and paying a second visit to Jebel Ali having finished fourth, over 1600m, on his penultimate outing.
Cape Of Eagles registered his third Jebel Ali victory, his total career tally of the season, with a relatively comfortable success in a 1950m handicap, his second course and distance victory having also landed a handicap over 1800m at the very first meeting of the UAE season in October. A 5-year-old Cape Blanco entire, that 1800m success was achieved on his first start for Helal Al Alawi with Billy Lee, sporting the predominantly red silks of Saleh Omar Ali Bin Haidar, in the saddle for all three victories and each of his six runs this season.
The 1800m handicap attracted just a field of four and only two of them ever really looked like winning with a local debutant, Almushref, leading until Galles swept past 200m out to put the race to bed in a few strides under Royston Ffrench. A 5-year-old Bernardini entire, Galles has only ever won at Jebel Ali where he was registering his third victory.
Arroway completed a double for the trainer, scoring decisively in a 1600m handicap under Xavier Ziani, the pair going one place better than when second a fortnight ago in a handicap over 1800m.
A 4YO Kitten’s Joy colt, he was doubling his career tally having made a winning racecourse debut, as a juvenile, over 1000m here at Jebel Ali, in November 2017. Drawn one, Ziani was always prominent before finding a gap on the rail when they shot clear and always looked likely to hold on.
Credit: Emirates Racing Authority