36 ADIYAT RACING PLUS ISSUE 840 Thursday 4th April 2024 REVIEW / DUBAI KAHAYLA CLASSIC REVIEW adiyat racing plus.com adiyat racing plus.com By Suleiman Altaf One of the stories of this year’s World Cup night was the dual-pronged steel-hardened attack for the Saudi Arabia-based Al Khalediah Stables in the $1million Group 1 Dubai Kahayla Classic (sponsored by One Za’abeel). And, while many had their eyes affixed on Asfan Al Khalediah, the unbeaten 17-race winner boasting the title of being the ‘Frankel’ of Arabian racing, his stablemate Tilal Al Khalediah (pictured) was none the worse, sitting at a par on official ratings of 128 with Saudi Arabia’s champion jockey Adel Al Furaydi in the saddle. Both are trained by Nasser Mutlaq Alkahtani, so it was a race for the Khalediahs to lose and while Asfan Al Khalediah, ridden by Abdullah Alawfi, was well-fancied to win, a wide and rough trip did not help his chances with the five-year-old always looking uncomfortable under his rider. On the other hand, Tilal Al Khalediah cruised along right from the outset, settling in behind AF Alwajel who was persuaded to the front from the deepest draw by his pilot Tadgh O’Shea. Anticipating traffic, Al Furaydi maneuvered away from the fence at the 600m mark allowing Tilal Al Khalediah to stride beautifully around the bend as AF Alwajel began to feel the pinch of the early hustle. It was only last year’s runner-up Barakka, ridden by Connor Beasley, who looked a threat to the winner in the straight, but those doubts were swept aside disdainfully as Tilal Al Khalediah coasted to the front to record an TILAL AL KHALEDIAH STEALS THE SHOW IN VICTORY FOR SAUDI ARABIA
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU4NjE2