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By Duane Fonseca -
A fascinating renewal of the Group 1 Emirates Championship is the main offering at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club this Thursday with the spotlight on Ajrad Athbah (Bernardo Pinheiro) and whether or not the Majed Al Jahoori trainee can rebound to winning ways as he bids to defend his title in the race. The 2200m contest is one of six Purebred Arabians events on a seven-race programme in the UAE capital and the six-year-old AF Albahar entire hit the stalls as highest rated of the field of 14. Ajrad Athbah beat four runners rated higher than his 113 in the 2023 running which he won by a length and three quarters from Mujeeb, who reopposes here now trained by Dennis O’Brien.
AJRAD’S NUMBERS GAME
The win upped his rating significantly and a first up second in the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown Prep three quarters of a length behind Barakka, who failed on the line when attempting to reel in the winner of the 2023 Dubai Kahayla Classic, further boosted his mark to a career high 124, which was then slashed to the present 120 after he finished tenth in a field of 16 in the main event. Last seen when a five-and-a-quarter length second behind RB Kingmaker in the HH The President Cup over course and distance (C&D) in mid-February, Ajrad Athbah will be fancied to defend his title having accounted for a number of those in opposition here when winning 12 months ago. Izadi Star (third), Bahar Muscat (seventh), Snan (ninth) all finished behind him and the runner-up Mujeeb.
O’Brien’s yard has gained a fair amount of quality from Salem Al Ketbi and one of those always in with a chance is Mujeeb (Richard Mullen) who was last seen finishing third behind Hameem in the Listed HH The President Cup Prep over C&D in January, which ruled him out of the chance to defend his title in the main event. Third behind Ajrad Athbah in the Jewel Crown Prep, the sevenyear- old Dahess entire managed a bit of revenge when finishing a half length ahead in eighth in the annual Abu Dhabi showpiece, and while that will hardly trouble Al Jahoori, it does indicate Mujeeb is one deserving respect in this field.
TWO PRONGED ATTACK FOR HELAL
Helal Alalawi saddles National Stables teammates Izadi Star (Pat Dobbs) and Joe Star. Izadi Star won the second and third legs of the Arabian Triple Crown back-toback in March 2022, the first over C&D and the second over the longer 2400m trip suggesting the six-year-old full son of Azadi could be very much in the picture at the finish. Izadi Star’s recent form has been far from exemplary with just a pair of placed efforts in nine starts, including a seventh in the President Cup.
A five-year-old Al Mourtajez entire, Joe Star (Adrie de Vries) won the UAE Arabian Derby over C&D, a race in which Saeed Al Shamsi’s Bahwan (Saif Al Balushi) was a close third, and was sent out the favourite in the President Cup Prep but failed to fire after becoming fractious in the stalls. In Riyadh for his last start in the G1 Mneefah Cup Turf on the sidelines of the Saudi Cup, Joe Star came home fifth, but was not disgraced and that form could help nudge him back towards the winning path. The aforementioned Bahwan was declared a non-runner for the President Cup and gets his chance here.
Abu Dhabi’s turf has proved a happy hunting ground in the past for Abdullah Al Hammadi’s Hameem (Tadhg O’Shea), who gained nine of his 10 career wins here, including twice over C&D among which was his battling win by a neck over RB Kingmaker in the President Cup Prep.
His inconsistency of late has been worrying, with Al Hammadi hoping he can rebound quickly from his sixth behind Al Laith in last week’s 1600m G2 Mazrat Al Ruwayah at Meydan a race in which Heros De Lagarde finished the runner-up, a little under two lengths in arrears. O’Brien also dispatches RB Yas Sir, who looks for a third straight win over C&D here, but will have to step up several notches as his last two starts were in lesser company that managed to increase his rating from 95 to 105.
Musabbeh Al Mheiri has big hopes lining up in the only Thoroughbred contest on the card, a 0-80 handicap over 1400m. Aswan (Pinheiro), a 1600m winner here, whose best showing this term was a close sixth behind Dionysian here late last month, is likely to show improvement for that run, while Eruptive (O’Shea) remains another potent candidate for his close second in a 1200m sprint at Jebel Ali in February, with horses performing well over the UAE’s most daunting surface generally expected to perform better over flatter tracks. A further four handicaps and a maiden — all Purebred Arabian events — supplement the above races.
