The trainer-jockey combinations of Richard Mullen-Satish Seemar and Sandeep Jadhav-Mickael Barzalona celebrated doubles at Meydan on Saturday but the spotlight was on the UAE champion trainer Doug Watson's newcomer Moshaher .
Moshaher lived up to his glowing reputation with an impressive win on his racecourse debut and was immediately declared for the UAE 2000 Guineas as his next race by his handler.
Pat Dobbs was on board the three-year-old colt by dual Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents, turning the 1,600m opening race in to a procession as Moshaher won by six and-a-quarter lengths from Lacienegaboulevard under Adrie de Vries with Fernando Jara atop Raayan a further three and-a-quarter lengths back in third.
“We have four weeks for the Guineas and that works out perfect for him with a little break in between,” said four-time UAE champion trainer Watson.
“He came with a little niggling injury. We had a good look at him early and took our time, and that’s the right thing to do. It’s going to be a busy schedule from here on ...”
Mullen and Seemar won the second and sixth races with Heraldic and Bochart, both in the silks of Al Bait Mutawahed Team.
The UAE champion jockey made all the running on both, the first over 2,200m and the next over 1,400m, with Bochart the more impressive of the two, trouncing the field by six and-a-half lengths.
Bochart puts up a fine performance to run out a ready winner of the District One Elegance Stretch Cup pic.twitter.com/b2xNDV4o1l
— Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) January 5, 2019
“Definitely it was a career best performance,” Mullen said of the six-year-old gelding Bochart.
“He broke very smartly. The plan was to always go forward. He’s a horse that loves the pace and I was able to fill him up.
“But what I liked best was when I let him go at the top of the stretch he really quickened and put the race to bed very quickly. Definitely he’s a horse on the up.”
Jadhav and Barzalona were successful in the fourth race with Private’s Cove and the concluding race with Rio Tigre.
Barzalona rode an excellent race on Private's Cove to end the horse's 10-race losing streak.
The France-based Godolphin jockey had his mount quickly out of the gates and settled him on the rails and then made all the running to win from the Royston Ffrench-ridden Alraseed by two lengths.
“He was unlucky in his last two starts and we were quite confident this time, and Mickael Barzalona gave him a fantastic ride,” Jadhav said.
“The horse has good early speed and he loves to be in the front. And once he got there he just kept going. He’s a tough horse and this win was long overdue for him.”
Harry Bentley rode the Ahmad bin Harmash-trained Rua Augusta for his first career win in 15 starts in the third race, and Jim Crowley steered Musabah Al Muhairi’s Azmaam to clinch the fifth race.
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