Irishman O’Shea on the cusp of making history
dubai — After joining British jockey Richard Hills at the top, Irishman Tadhg O’Shea stands at the cusp of going clear and becoming the most successful UAE jockey of all-time when he arrives at the Meydan Racecourse on Thursday evening.
The six-time UAE Champion Jockey, who equalled Hills’ mark of 503 wins after guiding the Ernst Oertel-saddled AF Al Moreeb in the Derrinstown Stud Purebred Arabian Maiden last Sunday in Abu Dhabi, could raise the benchmark and make it his own on the morrow.
The 37-year-old has a busy night at the races, the final meeting before the Dubai World Cup, with him booked for all but one in the seven-race card, all for Satish Seemar.
And chances are, O’Shea could welcome that milestone at no better a venue than the iconic Meydan
Racecourse. O’Shea rides Zalmi Star in the CNN Style Maiden, First Down in the CNN International Commercial Handicap, Mazeed in the CNN Arabic Handicap, Speedy Move in the CNN Health Handicap, River Of Gold in the CNN Sport Handicap and Mister Parma in the CNN Travel Handicap, the feature race of the evening.
O’Shea, who leads the UAE Jockeys’ Championship this season with 40 wins from 281 runs and earnings of Dh 4,176,118, begins
the evening with Zalmi Star, the five-year-old from Hard Spun, for owner Adnan Khan in the CNN Style Maiden, the first race.
He then replaces Richard Mullen on First Down with Mullen electing to ride Heraldic in the CNN International Commercial Handicap. O’Shea had ridden Bedaveeya last time out at Jebel Ali but hands the mare over to Adrie de Vries.
O’Shea then mounts Mazeed in the CNN Arabic Handicap for owners Al Bait Mutawahed Team before taking a break for the CNN Business Handicap, race four on the card.
The Irishman is back in action on Mister Parma for owner The Parmar Family in the CNN Travel Handicap over eight furlongs, the highlight of the night. He has two more rides in Speedy Move in the CNN Health Handicap with O’Shea wrapping up the night on River Of Gold in the CNN Sport Handicap.
Meanwhile, Seemar has two other runners in George Villiers, the ride of Mullen, and The New Maharaja, the mount of Antonio Fresu, in the feature race.
UAE Champion Trainer Doug Watson is double-handed with Thegreatcollection and Pillar of Society, the rides of Sam Hitchcott and Patrick Dobbs respectively, while Emirati handlers Ali Rashid Al Rayhi and Salem bin Ghadayer have three and two respectively.