RB Lam Tara produced an electrifying run to climb from last to first to land the Group Three Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup for Purebred Arabians in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The Eric Lemartinel-trained four-year-old mare, ridden by Fabrice Veron, had to go around a wall of horses before holding off the late challenge of Harrab under Pat Dobbs to win by a short head.
“She didn’t settle down well at the start and it wasn’t possible to get her into a good position at the beginning of the race,” Veron said.
“I had to just sit behind horses and watch how the race was panning out before I made my move. When I asked for her effort, she changed very quickly and showed a very good turn of foot.”
Six weeks ago, RB Lam Tara finished fifth on her reappearance behind stable companion RB Torch in a Rated Conditions over the course and distance, but she clearly was the best on the night as RB Torch finished a further length and-a-half behind in third.
“She needs cover and on that occasion she did a lot in the early part of the race and didn’t finish well,” Veron said of her previous race.
RB Lam Tara won twice over the course and distance last season and Lemartinel believes she will keep improving.
“She had to make more ground than the others and she was running against some Group One horses. She’s only four years and will improve further,” the Frenchman said.
“We have plenty of options to choose for the remainder of the season. We’ll see how she has come out of this race and decide where she goes next. We’ll keep her for races over 1,400m and 1,600m.”
Ali Rashid Al Raihe’s Taamol with Sandro Paiva atop took the Listed thoroughbred equivalent.
Jumping out of Gate 4, Paiva made all the running on Taamol to win from Golden Jaguar and Mukalal by a length and-a-quarter and head, respectively.
“He ran a good fifth over the 1,200m trip in his last start last season on the turf at Meydan and he enjoyed returning to the turf after two outings on the dirt at Jebeli Ali,” Al Raihe said.
“He’s got a rating of 95 and if he gets a decent mark after this win, he certainly would go for the Dubai World Cup Carnival. If not we’ll chose a few other options.”
Ernst Oertel completed a double with two different jockeys on the night. Tadhg O’Shea made all on AF Ashras in the third race and Antonio Fresu took the concluding handicap for fillies and mares on board Noof KB.
