Zahir takes Group 1 The President Cup race

abu dhabi — Over 2,200m and with a prize fund of Dh2,500,000, the Group 1 HH The President Cup was the highlight at Abu Dhabi on Sunday evening, a contest very few of the 16 runners were able to get competitive in, during what looked quite a rough race for those held up in rear.

One who was not was Al Zahir. Settled in fourth on the inside, his jockey Jim Crowley then sent him to the head of affairs, quickly putting daylight between themselves and Ziyadd, who had raced in third. Meanwhile, Ziyadd was able to hold on to second.

Trained by Ali Rashid Al Rayhi, Al Zahir made a winning local debut over this 2,200m course and distance in March 2017. That was in the Arabian Triple Crown R2 and he promptly followed up in the 2,400m Arabian Triple Crown R3 a fortnight later, his final start of last season. He was winning for the first time since.

The main support race, rescheduled having been due to be contested two weeks ago, the 1,200m Group 3 Al Ruwais, was won in good style by Rmmas, a second winner on the evening saddled by Jean de Rouale for Yas Horse Racing Management. Settled in the middle of the field, taking the shortest route on the inside under Richard Mullen, when a gap appeared 300m out they shot through, winning their race in a matter of strides.

Rmmas has now won two of his three local starts and is clearly held in some regard by his trainer, who said: “As I said when he won at Al Ain, he is a nice, young, horse who we really like. He is versatile regarding conditions, both underfoot and distance so, hopefully, we have a few options with him.”

Restricted to 4-year-olds, the 1,600m Listed Arabian Triple Crown R1 looked competitive with a field of 11, but only one horse matter in the end, Es Ajeeb, who was always travelling well within himself under Sam Hitchcott in front and won much the best. Es Ajeeb is trained by Ibrahim Aseel, who said: “To win a race like this on such a big day is brilliant for a small yard like ours. He is a very smart horse, we saw that at Sharjah on his second start and again today. It is exciting for all of us involved with the horse.”