Omani trainer Ibrahim Al Hadhrami and jockey Richard Mullen celebrated feature race success at Al Ain just after April 2023 set in after Heros De Lagarde showed good turn of foot to get away and win the PA Prestige Al Ain Sprint from Leena by an extending two and a half lengths.
Kept mid-division after breaking in the 1000m contest, the 5yo full son of AF Albahar was at his very best at his shortest trip yet and brought up only his second career triumph till date. His first had been on debut in a 1200m affair on Abu Dhabi’s turf, but the surface was never going to be a concern as he had shown with some close calls here on his previous starts.
Mullen kept Heros De Lagarde ready and unleashed him with 400m left to run. At the 200m pole, he split pacesetters Leena and Maahir, horses trained by Majed Al Jahoori for Yas Racing, to kick clear and win comfortably with the gap expanding all the time.
Leena was second under Bernardo Pinheiro, while Maahir was a further length behind in third under Marcelino Rodrigues.
Emirati trainers Khalifa Al Neyadi and Abdallah Al Hammadi, and their respective Omani jockeys Qais Al Busaidi and Al Moatasem Al Balushi. Al Neyadi and Al Busaidi won the card opening 2000m maiden with Ghassan and the Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners 1400m handicap with RB Sarab, while the Al Hammadi-Al Balushi partnership won back-to-back races starting with the 2000m handicap with Goshawke and the 1600m maiden for fillies and mares with Unbridled, both horses owned by Al Ajban Stables.
Jean-Claude Pecout and Fernando Jara also scored after Jabr Al Wathba took the 1000m sprint maiden, the penultimate race of the event, while the only Thoroughbred contest on the card, run as a 1400m handicap was won by Alla Mahlak for trainer Rashed Bouresly and Abdul Aziz Al Balushi.
