Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid appears to have a solid Dubai International Racing Carnival prospect on his hands after Haatheq stormed to victory in the 1,800m Jebel Ali Stakes Prep feature race yesterday.
The improving three-year-old, trained by Ali Rashid al Raihe and ridden by Richard Hills, will be aimed at the Jebel Ali Stakes and is then likely to take on the international raiders at Meydan Racecourse.
"That was a nice improvement from him," Ali al Muhairi, Sheikh Hamdan's racing manager, said. "He has come on from his last run and as long as he pulls up well he'll be looking at the Jebel Ali Stakes and then the Carnival."
Carlos Sanchez rode two winners yesterday - Al Marmoom, who left the field behind in the second race, a 1,400m handicap; and Step in Line, who was a three-length winner in the fourth race, a 1,600m handicap. Both horses are trained by Abdulla bin Huzaim.
"I'm very happy," said Sanchez, who had ridden only one UAE winner prior to yesterday's double.
"I won here last year for the same trainer so this is a lucky course for me. It's the perfect end to 2010."
Harry Bentley's good form continued, with the 18-year-old apprentice jockey also riding a double, to bring his wins for the season to eight. His first victory came aboard the Gillian Duffield-trained MH Al Wadi, which obliterated the course record in the opening 1,400m Emirates Horse Breeder's Society Cup.
The UAE-bred Arabian's 1min 35.98secs knocked almost three seconds off the mark set last season by AF Alghabra, another Duffield-trained charge.
Bentley also won the fifth race, a mile-long handicap, on Kala Kanta, trained by Satish Seemar.
Saeed al Mazrooei, the New Emirati jockey, got his first ride as a licensed apprentice and finished seventh on al Raihe's Dahes in the second race. "I wasn't nervous but I was excited," said al Mazrooei, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of Ahmed Ajtebi, the UAE's Breeders' Cup-winning jockey.
"I was very happy to get a ride and I feel motivated to work even harder now. The trip was probably a little short for my horse but now I have my first ride under my belt and I can build from here."
Doug Watson's Alsadeek made it it two from two in the last race, a 1,200m conditions contest.
