Kilt Rock breaks drought with fifth win, Jebel Ali Sprint may be next

A high-five after more than a year's wait, the owners of the six year old will be looking at unaccomplished frontiers.

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DUBAI // Kilt Rock was the impressive winner of the featured 1,200-metre handicap at Jebel Ali yesterday when leading virtually all the way under Pat Dobbs, to the delight of his enthusiastic syndicate of owners, the Emirates Entertainment Racing Club.

It was a fifth course win for Kilt Rock, an Ireland-bred six-year-old trained by Doug Watson, but first since January 2012.

"He won his first four last season and has been competing in much better company and running well in defeat, so he deserved that win," Watson said.

"We will have to look at the Jebel Ali Sprint in which he was third last year."

The trainer Mubarak bin Shafya saddled a double with the stable jockey Adrie De Vries aboard both and making all on both occasions.

Periphery, a course winner two weeks ago, led the way in a 1,600m handicap, and Izaaj followed up in the concluding 1,800m handicap.

De Vries said: "It has been a good afternoon and both have done it nicely."

The UAE champion trainer Ali Rashid Al Raihe was another in double form.

The stable jockey Royston Ffrench was aboard Latkhaf in a 1,400m handicap victory, following up his course and distance success of two weeks ago.

He beat stable companion Qannaas on that occasion. Yesterday, however, Qannaas ran in the following 1,600m maiden race and easily recorded his first victory, with Paul Hanagan riding for his main employer, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid.

Hanagan said: "That should do his confidence a lot of good and he won comfortably."

Yesterday's racing opened with a 1,600m conditions race, the only Purebred Arabian race on the card.

Silvestre De Sousa drove Af Kamaash to a second course win for the trainer Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

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