O’Shea bags hat trick of wins in Abu Dhabi

abu dhabi — Racing returned to the UAE capital on Saturday with a six race card on the turf at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.

Champion jockey, Tadhg O’Shea, partnered his first winner as retained jockey for Khalid Khalifa Al Nabooda when landing the 1,400m handicap aboard AF Waqas, trained by Ernst Oertel.

“He was getting a bit tired in the closing stages under a big weight but I am delighted to ride a winner,” O’Shea said.

The trio completed a double an hour later, O’Shea at his best aboard AF Yathroq, settled well off the pace by his jockey before easing into contention on the home turn in a 2,200m handicap.

The only Thoroughbred race, the finale, was a 2,200m handicap and proved more than worth the wait, producing a pulsating finish with O’Shea and Parliamentarian locked in a titanic struggle with Ben Curtis aboard Jamesian throughout the final 300m.

Curtis and Jamesian threw down the gauntlet, wrestling the initiative from Parliamentarian who immediately fought back to stick his head in front again. With the lead seemingly changing hands every other stride, the latter appeared set to gain the spoils but one last desperate lunge from Jamesian proved enough to earn a share of the prize.

So, O’Shea, riding for Satish Seemar, completed a hat trick whereas Curtis, having only his second Abu Dhabi mount, was registering a second UAE success, after one at Jebel Ali, both for his new boss, Musabbeh Al Mheiri.

A delighted O’Shea said: “That has been a great evening and has really worked out perfectly, riding a double for Mr Al Nabooda and one for Satish Seemar, my two main employers this season.”