ABU DHABI // Having just been crowned joint champion apprentice in the UK, William Buick makes his UAE bow tonight at Nad Al Sheba's second meeting of the new season. Taking up a job as the stable jockey to Dhruba Selvaratnam at Jebel Ali, he has a full book of rides on the six race card, including Remaadd for his new boss in the featured 10-furlong handicap. And Buick is looking forward to it.
"It has been a great season at home and this is a wonderful opportunity. I am grateful to everyone for the chance and hope to make the most of it," he said. The champion trainer Doug Watson saddles the top two in the same race with Fernando Jara partnering Arqaam, who has yet to show his true worth in the UAE, but could bounce back if deeming to depart the stalls with the rest of the field. Watson said: "He has had problems with the gates but hopefully can break on level terms. He is a nice horse, while Dynamic Saint is in great form."
It would be no surprise to see Watson land the valuable prize as Dynamic Saint normally goes well fresh. Musabah Al Muhairi pushed Watson hard in the trainers' title race last season and would appear to have three good chances on the night. The enigmatic Changing Wind could be hard to beat in the concluding mile handicap, while Africanus has to go close in the novice race over the same trip. If he does win, it will be a major boost to the form of stable companion Knight of Dance who contests the seven-furlong handicap. The winner of his only race to date, Knight of Dance beat Africanus on that occasion - just over a year ago.
The jockey Wayne Smith hopes for a good night. He said: "We look to have a few chances and the horses are in good form. Knight of Dance could be useful but has had a lot of problems in the past. Hopefully, he can put those behind him but he will certainly benefit from the run." The opening Purebred Arabian race, a mile handicap, had been the intended dirt debut of Rod Simpson's Abu Alemarat but he was a late withdrawal. That leaves the race at the mercy of seasoned dirt performers such as Royal Epic and Wayne Rooney, as well as Gill Duffield duo Muthaaber and Hayajaan who merit respect.
sports@thenational.ae NAD AL SHEBA CARD 7.00pm DUBAL POTLINE TROPHY 1,600m (PA) Handicap (rated 55-80) Dh 60,000 1. 016- HAYAJAAN (GB) 5y ch g 58.5 Gillian Duffield ? W.Buick 4 2. 303- ROYAL EPIC (US) 10y b g 58.5 S.Seemar ? R.Mullen 1 3. 100- WAYNE ROONEY (FR) 8y ch g 58.5 D.Watson ? D.O'Donohoe 2 4. 111- ABU ALEMERAT (FR) 4y ch h 54 R.Simpson ? J.McGinn 11 5. 00-0 OSAIRA (FR) 5y ch m 54 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 3
6. 60-6 PALAPAL (GB) 5y ch h 54 A.Al Raihe ? Lisa Jones 6 7. 034- MUTHAABER (GB) 8y b g 53 Gil;lian Duffield ? A.Nicholls 7 8. 530- BADDAH (FR) 6y ch h 52 M.Ramadan ? A.Ajtebi (1.5kgs) 10 9. 402- FIRSTWAN (FR) 5y b h 52 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 9 10. 206- OFFRANDE DUCROATE (FR) 6y b m 52 M.Gharib ? R.Burke 8 11. 33-4 TIME OUT (FR) 5y ch h 52 R.Simpson ? Sophie Doyle (3kgs) 5 7.30pm DUBAL PLATE 1,600m (TB) Maiden Dh 50,000
1. 10-0 AFRICANUS (IRE) 6y b h 57 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 4 2. 105- JAP KHATTAF (GB) 5y ch h 57 I.Ellahi ? D.O'Donohoe 5 3. 300- DAWEYRR (USA) 4y b g 54 D.Selvaratnam ? W.Buick 6 4. 05-3 IMPENETRABLE (USA) 4y ch c 54 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 7 5. - JAP AJEEB (UAE) 4y Dkb c 54 I.Ellahi ? M.Phillips 3 6. 530- LUNAR LANDSCAPE (USA) 5 ch m 54 A.Al Raihe ? A.Ajtebi (1.5kgs) 2 7. 0w0- SEATTLE CLEAR (USA) 5y b g 54 A.Manuel ? A.Nicholls 1
8.00pm DUBAL BILLET TROPHY 1,100m (TB) Handicap (55-80) Dh 60,000 1. 630- CONCEAL (GB) 10y ch g 62 R.Bouresly ? D.Smith 2 2. 06-4 MACHYNLETH (GB) 8y b g 62 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 5 3. 543- JAASOOS (IRE) 4y ch g 58.5 D.selvaratnam ? W.Buick 4 4. 000- BUSCAPE (USA) 6y Db/br g 58.5 S.Seemar ? R.Mullen 6 5. 00-2 LORD EGO (BRZ) 5y Db/br g 58 D.Watson ? F.Jara 3 6. 33-0 FRANCOTE (CHI) 4y ch c 55 O.Mohammed ? D.O'Donohoe 7
7. 304- MILLENNIUM FORCE (GB) 10y b g 55 R.Bouresly ? T.O'Shea 8 8. 00-0 ARCH OF TITUS (IRE) 4y ch c 53.5 A.Manuel ? A.Nicholls 9 9. 406- MUSAHIM (USA) 6y Db/br h 52 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 1 8.30pm DUBAL TROPHY 1,400m (TB) Handicap (60-75) Dh 44,000 1. 1- KNIGHT OF DANCE (GB) 5y b g 58.5 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 4 2. 41-0 DONIA DUBAI (IRE) 5y b m 57.5 R.Bouresly ? T.O'Shea 2 3. 23-SURPRISE PACKAGE (FR) 3y ch c 57 R.Simpson ? Sophie Doyle (3kgs) 6
4. 056- SLEEPING WEAPON (USA) 9y b h 55 D.Watson ? D.O'Donohoe 1 5. 631- FOR ONCE (GB) 5y b g 52.5 D.Selvaratnam ? W.Buick 7 6. 43-4 OTRANTO (USA) 6y ch h 52.5 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 3 7. 200- RAGAD (GB) 5y b h 52.5 D.Watson ? F.Jara 5 9.00pm DUBAL STAKES 2,000m (TB) Handicap (85+) Dh 110,000 1. 253- DYNAMIC SAINT (USA) 5y b g 59 D.Watson ? D.O'Donohoe 9 2. 540- ARQAAM (GB) 4y b g 58 D.Watson ? F.Jara 1
3. 400- PEINTRE BLUE (FR) 6y ch g 56.5 S.Seemar ? R.Mullen 6 4. 305- REMAADD (USA) 7y gr g 56.5 D.Selvaratnam ? W.Buick 5 5. 220- LEITMOTIV (IRE 5y b h 56 M.Al Muhairi ? Lisa Jones 7 6. 000- ALL THAT AND MORE (IRE) 6y ch g 54.5 A.Manuel ? A.Nicholls 10 7. 015- NIGHT GUMBLER (CHI) 4y ro g 54.5 O.Mohammed ?A.Ajtebi (1.5kgs)2 8. 024- SAHARA SPHINX (USA) 5y ch m 54.5 M.Al Muhairi ? D.Smith 8 9. 045- MARRAJ (USA) 4y db/br c 53.5 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 3
10. 50-0 QUORUM (GER) 5y b g 52 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 4 9.30pm DUBAL CASTHOUSE TROPHY 1,600m (TB) Handicap (75-95) Dh 70,000 1. 000- SEABOW (USA) 5y b g 60.6 M.Al Muhairi ? A.Ajtebi (1.5kgs) 4 2. 000- PARNASSUS (SAF) 6y b g 59.5 S.Seemar ? R.Mullen 2 3. 430- CLASP (GB) 6y ch g 59 D.Watson ? F.Jara 9 4. 130- CHANGING WIND (USA) 5y db/br g 58 M.Al Muhairi ? W.Smith 6 5. 40-6 CHERRY PICKINGS (USA) 11y b g 56.5 R.Bouresly ? T.O'Shea 8
6. 630- PALM COURT (GB) 3y b g 56.5 A.Al Raihe ? R.Ffrench 5 7. 103- AIRBUSS (IRE) 5y b g 54.5 D.Selvaratnam ? W.Buick 7 8. 300- DARK POINT (GB) 5y b g 54.5 D.Watson ? D.O'Donohoe 1 9. 000- FORTY HALBADOR (ARG) 7y b g 52 A.Manuel ? A.Nicholls 3
