Brazilian jockeys had a field day by winning five of the nine prizes on the Purebred Arabian card at Al Ain on Sunday.
Bernardo Pinheiro and Sandro Paiva both had two winners and apprentice Marcelino Rodrigues another, while Panamanian Oscar Chavez rode Nawart Baynounah to victory for rookie Sudanese trainer Nisren Mahgoub.
Pinheiro completed the double for Emirati trainer Khalifa Al Neyadi, riding Caesar Hawran to victory in the opener and then producing a strong late run to take the seventh race on Yas Xmnsor.
Paiva won the meeting’s second race on Mohamed Daggash’s Mirqab and then gave former UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation secretary general Faisal Seddiq Al Mutawa his first winner as a trainer with his first runner Fekr Almutawa.
Doug Watson celebrated a rare success with Al Mahbooba, his first Arabian runner of the season.
Sam Hitchcott took up the running on the long home stretch on the track to land the concluding handicap and the meeting’s most valuable prize – the Dh110,000 first leg of the Al Ain Marathon Series.
A daughter of three-time Dubai Kahayla Classic winner Madjani, the seven-year-old was winning in only her second start in the UAE after arriving at the Red Stables in Dubai.
“She had her first run in Abu Dhabi since she arrived from the UK and improved from that to win for us tonight,” James Owen, the owner, said.
“Her performance was there in the UK, winning her last two starts and had previously placed several times. She justified that performances with a nice win.”
Dane O’Neill on Jean de Roualle’s Zaidan Al Wathba and Antonio Fresu on Musabah Al Muhairi’s Jazeela took home the two remaining prizes.
Results
4pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Caesar Hawran, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)
4.30pm: Al Jimi – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Mirqab, Sandro Paiva, Mohamed Daggash
5pm: Zakhir – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Zaidan Al Wathba, Dane O’Neill, Jean de Roualle
5.30pm: Al Khobaisi – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Fekr Almutawa, Sandro Paiva, Faisal Seddiq Al Mutawa
6pm: Al Qattara – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Nawart Baynounah, Oscar Chavez, Nisren Mahgoub
6.30pm: Al Hili – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Jazeelah, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
7pm: Mezied – Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi
7.30pm: Al Masoudi – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: AF Almomayaz, Marcelino Rodrigues, Qaiss Aboud
8pm: First Leg Of The Al Ain Marathon Series – Handicap (PA) Dh110,000 (D) 3,200m
Winner: Al Mahbooba, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
