DUBAI // An ultra-competitive card at Jebel Ali on Friday was highlighted by a 1,400-metre handicap won by Yaa Wayl, who was making his first start for the trainer Dhruba Selvaratnam.
A quality performer in Britain, Yaa Wayl campaigned at the past three Meydan Carnivals under the Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor. His new handler will eye Meydan next year.
It was a first winner of the season for the stable jockey James Doyle.
“That opens up a lot of options as he has proven himself here on the dirt,” Doyle said. “The Jebel Ali Mile could be a possibility, and of course, there is Meydan and the Carnival.
“That was very pleasing, though, as we thought he would need that run to put him spot on.”
Doyle was not the only jockey to open his seasonal tally yesterday in Dubai. The apprentices Noel Garbutt and William Twiston-Davies, as well as the trainer Erwan Charpy, were all off the mark for the season.
Crackdown and Garbutt, who ended up riding his first UAE winner, ran out easy winners of a 1,600m handicap, to the delight of his French trainer.
“We knew he was very fit for this seasonal debut and the first winner of any season is always important,” Charpy said.
“Noel is a promising young jockey and has impressed with his attitude, determination to improve and, of course, his riding.”
Twiston-Davies had only his second ride in the UAE, and his first on a thoroughbred, when landing the opening 1,400m handicap on Enery for the trainer Musabah Al Muhairi.
The jockey said: “It is nice to get a winner early on and this is a great opportunity for me to gain some valuable experience in a different environment.”
Latkhaf and Royston Ffrench, riding for his main employer, Ali Rashid Al Raihe, won for a fourth time at Jebel Ali when scoring in a 1,200m handicap.
“He just goes so well here at Abu Dhabi and will always try his best when involved in a scrap,” Ffrench said. “Hopefully, we can find another suitable race for him here.”
The trainer-jockey duo of Doug Watson and Pat Dobbs doubled up in the final two races, with Storm Belt impressing in the 1,800m handicap before stable companion Henry Clay made all the running in the concluding 1,950m handicap.
“We expected big runs from the pair of them and they did not disappoint under two perfect rides from Pat,” Watson said. “Storm Belt is a Carnival-class horse who could come back here for the Jebel Ali Stakes before the valuable Meydan races.
“Henry Clay has improved with each run he has had for us, and that was a very pleasing performance from horse and jockey.
“Hopefully, he can build on that.”
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