Watson pleased to start season with a win

Sarah Tregoning

• Last Updated: November 06. 2009 7:55PM UAE / November 6. 2009 3:55PM GMT

Reigning champion trainer Doug Watson drew first blood yesterday when Alsadeek romped to victory in the first race of the season, winning by 11 lengths.

The four-year-old, ridden by Irishman Tadhg O’Shea and owned by Malih al Basti, ate up six furlongs of the Jebel Ali dirt, getting the better of runner-up, Rashid Boursely’s Rawalbandie.

While most Dubai trainers work their charges on the new tapeta training track, Watson and Boursely train their horses on the dirt tracks at Al Quoz and that may prove a decisive factor at this early stage of the season.

“We knew he would run well but we weren’t expecting him to win by that far,” said Watson.

Satish Seemar endured a quiet season last time out but surged on to the trainers’ championship table yesterday with consecutive wins from Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed’s battling Ibn al Nafis in the second, six furlong maiden and Princess Haya’s Escape Route in the five furlong feature race.

Jockey Richard Mullen had the honour of piloting both.

“I was surprised how well Escape Route travelled,” said Mullen, who got the better of Watson’s favourite, Hammadi. “I knew if he was there at the end he would finish well up the hill.”

Escape Route won his last six furlong outings at Jebel Ali in March and Mullen believes there is still plenty more to come based on his early season form. “He’s had a year to settle in,” he said. “He won at the end of last season and the beginning of this season so he’s heading the right way.”

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid claimed the seven furlong fourth race with experienced eight-year-old, Estihdaaf, trained by Ali Rashid al Raihe and under O’Shea.

Race five saw a first win in two seasons of riding in the UAE for the Argentine jockey, Carlos Sanchez, on Seeking an Alibi for trainer Abdullah bin Huzaim and owner, Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed. Seabow, ridden by Wayne Smith and prepared by Musabah al Muhairi, outstayed the rest of the field to take the honours in the final race of the day for Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed.

Two thoroughbred contests make up a seven-race card at Sharjah today while Purebred Arabian races dominate with maidens for low-rated horses scheduled to start racing at 2pm.

stregoning@thenational.ae