AF Lafeh remains winless in five starts this season, although his trainer, Ali Rashid Al Raihe, said that drought could end in the featured race of Friday’s second meeting at Al Ain.
The eight-year-old son of Amer was runner up to Bigg N Rich in his most recent start over the track’s mile trip two weeks ago.
“My guess is that it his turn to win,” Al Raihe said. “He is very game and honest and wasn’t beaten too far behind by some quality horses in all his five starts. He came very close to winning in his last start.”
AF Lafeh ended the last season on a high, winning three of his last four starts. On his reappearance, he was a creditable fourth behind Shayel Aldhabi in the National Day Cup in his first start this season and was fifth in the Group 1 race three weeks later.
He ran another solid race to finish third, one-and-a-half lengths behind Rabbah De Carrere, in the Group 1 Mazrat Al Ruwayah event at Meydan, and did not place in the G1 Maktoum Challenge Round 1.
Ernst Oertel, the UAE champion trainer, is double handed in the race with Richlore, the mount of stable jockey Tadhg O’Shea, and Fryvolous, a multiple Group 1 winner, who at age 11, still holds the zest to race.
Richlore was two lengths further behind AF Lafeh and looks to be one to go close over the extended 1,800m distance.
Majed Al Jahouri, who has won all three Group 1 prizes for the Purebred Arabians so far in the silks of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, has four horses entered for his principal patron.
The racing begins at 2pm.
apassela@thenational.ae
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