Shamikh Al Wathba looks to defend title
al ain — Defending champion Shamikh Al Wathba will be among 11 horses for gteh top honours in the 4100m handicap the race during the second round of the Al Ain Marathon Series on Friday.
Trained on the Al Ain track by Jean de Roualle for Yas Horse Racing Management, the 7-yearold won the equivalent race last year, when it was over 3200m, before finishing second, over this 4100m, in the third round and then third in the series’ finale, over 5100m, in the final leg. He has had just one outing this season, finishing second in a 3200m handicap Round 1 of the Al Ain Marathon Series when he was staying on strongly under Richard Mullen, again in the saddle.
“This horse stays well and was entitled to need that first run, his first since March,” Mullen said. “It looks a strong heat, but he should be in the mix.”
On a card seemingly dedicated to stamina, the only Thoroughbred race is a 2600m handicap for which the maximum field allowed of 15 have been declared and appears wide open.
The weights are headed by Aslan, trained by Sandeep Jadhav and the mount of Royston Ffrench. An 8-year-old gelded son of A P Indy, he has registered all four career victories in the UAE, including two last season having landed a 1800m handicap at Jebel Ali and, two starts later, a 2200m Meydan handicap. Aslan would appear to hold strong claims having only been seen once this season, in a much better handicap than this at Meydan.
For Satish Seemar and Richard Mullen, Immortalised fittingly made history on this card last year when landing a 2000m handicap, in doing so becoming the first progeny sired by Frankel to win in the UAE. That remains his solitary career victory, but this is just his second Al Ain outing, so he is basically defending an unbeaten course record.
A 2000m Al Ain winner in February 2016, Skygazer has claims for Ali Rashid Al Rayhi, as do Ay Ay, to be ridden by Tadhg O’Shea for Fawzi Nass, Jinthsi for Musabbeh Al Mheiri and Ben Curtis, as well as his stable companion Enery, the mount of Jesus Rosales.