Al Ain Mile highlights seven-race card on Friday

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The biggest race of the Al Ain season, the 1600m Group 3 Al Ain Mile, is the obvious feature at Al Ain’s Friday meeting with 12 declared to contest the Dhs350,000 prize.

Trained by Majed Al Jahoori for Yas Racing, homebred 8-year old entire Bandar entire has been plying his trade in Group One company recently and connections have snapped up the services of Champion Jockey Tadhg O’Shea, almost certain to retain his rider’s crown this season.

Admittedly, his mount has not really fired on either start this season, but those outings were in the 1900m Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge R2, in which he was second last year and the 2000m third round, the Group One feature he landed 12 months earlier, his career highlight thus far.

Also for Al Jahoori, Jim Crowley partners stable companion Jawaal, also homebred, but only a 5-year-old entire and campaigned by Al Wathba Racing. Crowley is actually unbeaten on him, the pair having won the 1600m Emirates Colt Classic in February 2020 and, on the horse’s most recent start, the 1700m HH The Ruler Of Sharjah Cup a fortnight ago. Both those races carry Prestige status.

From his Al Asayl base, Eric Lemartinel saddles Darius Du Paon for President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and he is another fascinating contender who normally runs in better class races than this.

Another 8-year-old entire, he was most recently seen when a staying on fourth in the 2200m Group 1 HH The President Cup on the Abu Dhabi turf.

Dirt outings have been something of a rarity for Lemartinel’s charge, his most recent was in the 2019 Kahayla Classic when never able to land a blow. He is, however, unbeaten at Al Ain, a 1400m maiden success in January 2017 followed, a fortnight later, with a course handicap victory over 1800m. He has not won since November 2018, but that was over 1600m, albeit on turf in the capital.

RB Kinetic will be having just her second local start and since joining Doug Watson. Byerley Racing’s 5-year-old mare was a dual Grade Three winner Stateside, over 1200m and 1600m, so conditions should suit if she copes with racing clockwise, something she will not have been asked to do, at least in competition, previously.

Her local debut was not devoid of promise, racing enthusiastically from the front in the 1600m Group 2 Mazrat Al Ruwayah at Meydan, weakening only at the top of the straight. Entitled to benefit from that outing, her first since September, she should be a realistic contender under Pat Dobbs.

Based here at Al Ain, Jean-Claude Pecout has two winners to his credit in his first UAE season, both with Brraq in Group One rounds of the Al Maktoum Challenge. He relies on Aoun here, another live homebred hope for Yas Racing. The best of his three local outings was his first, when a closing third over 1900m in the Group 2 Madjani Stakes at Meydan.

Another dropping in class, this time for Ahmed Al Mehairbi and Al Rahmani Racing, Dagui Lotois has finished third on his two latest outings, the 1900m Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge R2, on the Meydan dirt at the end of January, then the 2200m Group 1 HH The President Cup on turf at Abu Dhabi, almost three weeks ago.