ABU DHABI // Al Charif underlined his reputation as one of the leading juveniles with last night's convincing win in the Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 for the Oman-based French trainer Phillipe Barbe. Given a well timed run by David Badel, the colt broke away from the pack in the final furlong to win by more than a length from Jaci Wickham's filly Raeaa W'rsan followed by Jawass and Sama Bu Dhabi.
"He was running very easy and when I asked for his effort he just sped away from the rest like a good horse he is," said Badel. "There wasn't much pace in the race but I was on a good horse, and when you are on a good horse, you know you can pick up the pace when you want to. "We were in a nice position in third throughout the race and I didn't have to do much on him. He is definitely a good horse and had come into this race having won a Group 1 prize at Saint-Cloud in France. And his connections definitely fancied him on the night and he did it in good style too."
Saifaldin Deeb's Ameer Al Sraya and Bierton Belle set the early pace, but his third entry Najem Al Khalij, the stable's main hope, was never able to make a challenge and finished fifth. Wayne Smith rode Detonator to an easy victory in the concluding event, the solitary race for thoroughbreds. Smith took over the running at the final bend and sped away on the Musabah al Muhairi-trained horse to win from stable companion Leitmotiv, in the prep race for the Abu Dhabi Championship, a listed event next month.
Albar Lotois is proving to be a valuable asset in Eric Lemartinel's yard. The five-year-old, ridden by the Frenchman Gerald Avranche, sprinted clear from the two-furlong marker to win the Gerbya Handicap by more than four lengths from Estiqraar, who tried to make all the running in the 11-furlong opener. Lemartinel's third horse in the race, AF Asasi, finished third. The Emirati trainer Majid al Jahouri's Maram, a daughter of the 2002 Kahayla Classic winner Nez D'or, ran out to a similar convincing victory half-an-hour later to take the Al Maha mares' race, a conditions event over the same trip.
The Argentine Jesus Rosales steered her clear after turning for home on the final bend to win by more than five lengths from Basmah W'rsan, who came with a late run to edge out Nawara for the second spot. Gillian Duffield's Mooser finally shed his maiden tag after finishing on the board eight times from 11 career starts. Alan Munro had him up in the lead in the final furlong to win by one-and-a-half lengths from AF Tharb and Waneessah W'rsan.
The rest of the races were delayed by 30 minutes after jockeys Avranche and Daragh O'Donohoe fell on the final bend. Avranche, who won the opener, was rushed to hospital and his injury was reported to be not serious. O'Donohoe walked away from the incident. apassela@thenational.ae