Costa looks to extend winning run at Jebel Ali Racecourse

Jebel Ali Racecourse founder and patron Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s ‘home team’ will be looking to pick up from where they left off when racing resumes for the new-year in their backyard on Saturday.

Sheikh Ahmed’s bright yellow silks have been in top form at home and have claimed 16 of their 22 winners for the campaign so far at their home track. And with resident trainer Michael Costa, responsible for all of those wins, saddling six during the course of the afternoon.

Costa has runners in five of the six Thoroughbred races on the seven-race programme, which begins with a 1400m maiden for Purebred Arabians bred in the UAE, where Ernst Oertel dispatches four as he looks for his fifth success of the season following a slow start.

The feature event is the Al Awir Sprint Stakes sponsored by Shadwell (4pm) and needless to say Costa’s Mozahim (Ben Coen) looks the one to beat from among the nine that go to post for the 1200m handicap.

A main attraction on the undercard is the JARC Motorsport Day Cup, where yet Costa trainee stands out in Eljenob, who won first up in a 1400m maiden and then placed third and second over the longer 1600m and 1800m trips when trying to follow up.

Sticking to his promise of 11 unique concepts spreading across the season and keeping the racegoers in mind, Mohamed Al Ahmed, General Manager of the Jebel Ali Racecourse, said: “Motorsports Day at Jebel Ali Racecourse celebrates the best of both worlds, marking the exciting meeting in our exciting series of theme-based events.

“Joining forces with Porsche, this meeting promises a revved-up experience beyond the usual races. Witness a stunning gathering of Porsche sports cars on race day, adding a sleek and powerful dimension to the already electric atmosphere.

Mozahim, the four-year-old Kantharos colt, has some terrific home form backing him over the 1000m strip which makes him a tough rival to come up against at the ‘hill’.

Powering home on debut in November, Mozahim finished four lengths clear of the opposition and subsequently threw in a gritty performance to beat a strong field in a handicap by a short head.

Running a fortnight after finishing fourth behind Morning in a 1200m handicap at Meydan, the only blemish on his record so far, Costa’s trainee should appreciate a return to his favourite surface against a group of rivals that are yet to really make a splash.

Ras Al Khaimah-based Rashed Bouresly is responsible for three, Al Khaldie (Oscar Chavez), Black Mark (Omar Salas) and Imprison (Richard Mullen), among which the latter perhaps stands out, for his third behind the impressive Mojeyrr on his last start over C&D a week ago. The 11-year-old Sea The Stars gelding’s three career wins have all been over C&D, the last of which was in February 2023, however, this might be well beyond him with yet another minor placing the best to be expected from the veteran.

Bhupat Seemar’s My Dubawi (Tadhg O’Shea) and the Musabbeh Al Mheiri-schooled Asad Zabeel (Jim Crowley) are both ranked marginally higher than Mozahim, the former, winner of a corresponding event a year ago, marking his seasonal bow in this, while finishing eighth behind Ponntos in the Listed Ertijaal Dubai Dash might have nudged Al Mheiri into trying him again over the shorter sprint trip.

The Commercial Bank of Dubai Stakes, a 1000m Non Winner for runners that have recently turned three, has another tough contender from the Costa yard in Turjman, who is among four going to post.

A Mitole colt, he placed second in both two-year-old starts, with Costa hoping for winning luck in this small field.

Seemar saddles Blue Point colt Point Given and King Of Luck (New Bay), who will race in the colours of Epsom Derby winning owner Saeed Suhail. Point Given finished a half length back in second on his UAE debut at Abu Dhabi, which was his fourth career start, while the latter flopped on his three previous starts for former trainer Sir Michael Stoute. Nothing is known of the fourth candidate, Hobalsalam, who debuts under Xavier Ziani for trainer Salem bin Ghadayer.