A busy weekend of racing in the UAE will conclude in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with a six-race card in the capital.
The first meeting in the UAE capital in four weeks will see five races for Purebred Arabians and one for thoroughbreds, which will be a competitive Maiden run over 1600 metres.
Satish Seemar has entered four in the 14-runner thoroughbred field, with stable and UAE champion jockey Richard Mullen choosing to ride Immoratlised.
Seemar will be hoping the chestnut colt by the Frankel, who won all 14 of his races, will make it third time lucky for the Zabeel Stables trainer as he returns to Abu Dhabi for his third local start.
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Unsuccessful in five outings when trained by Karl Burke in England, Immortalised finished seventh in Abu Dhabi on his previous two visits over 1400m and 2400m.
Dawwaas, ridden by Adrie de Vries, Eagle’s Stare with Antonio Fresu and King’s Shadow with Pat Cosgrave atop are Seemar’s other runners.
The Ahmad bin Harmash-trained Al Madam is expected to pose the main threat to Seemar’s quartet.
The filly is the only ride on the card for Jim Crowley, the retained jockey of leading owner Hamdan bin Rashid, and should be competitive under what may prove her optimum conditions.
Al Madam struggled over 1950m at Jebel Ali and 2000 at Al Ain but has twice finished third and fourth once on her three previous attempts over 1400m. Her only turf outing was second-place, over 1800m at Meydan.
In the five races for the Arabians, Eric Lemartinel has six entered across four races.
Assyad, in the second race and the most valuable prize at Dh85,000 on the card, looks the pick of his runners.
The winner of the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship over 1600m in his last start, the Burning Sand colt is open to any amount of improvement in only his third career start.
“He’s a nice young horse and one we have always liked,” said Gerald Avranche, the jockey. “We have to think he has a big chance and hopefully can keep progressing.”
Al Tiryaq, chasing a hat-trick, can pose the main danger to Lemartinel’s horse. Sam Hitchcott is atop the five year old by Bibi De Carrere trained by Abdullah Al Hammadi.
The first of Al Tiryaq’s victories this season came in a conditions race, over the same 1400m course and distance when ridden by Dane O’Neill. The next was over 1600m handicap under Hitchcott.
“He needed his first run more than we thought, and it was over 2200m which is probably too far for him anyway” said Hitchcott, who was also on board when he was unplaced in his first run in the season.
“He then won well for Dane and improved on that when I won on him last time. He is a nice, straightforward, progressive, horse with a turn of foot and we are very hopeful.”
Lemartinel has Mushairib in the first race, Mahfouz and RB Grynade in the third, and Molahen El Alhan and Meydan Du Paon in the concluding race.
