Sharaf Al Reef wins Liwa Oasis in Abu Dhabi race
abu dhabi — A late challenge saw Shaaf Al Reef win 1,400m Group 2 Liwa Oasis race in the final meeting of the season at the Abu Dhabi Racecourse on Sunday.
Wadeeaa looked certain winner until dramatically slowing down in the final 150m and losing out to the late challenge of Sharaf Al Reef.
Probably last of the 12 runners at halfway, the 10-year-old entire just kept passing rivals throughout the duration of the straight under Gerald Avranche, sporting the lime green silks of Al Ajban Stables and riding for trainer Abdallah Al Hammadi, completing a double on the card for all concerned.
It was a sixth career victory for the veteran, all at Abu Dhabi, but first since landing the 1,600m Group 3 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup in December 2016.
It was also the shortest trip over which he has won and Avranche explained: “They went very, very quick up front which has really helped me because this horse stays a lot further, so his stamina has really come into play in the final stages.”
The maximum field allowed of 16 may have gone to post for the opening 1,600m maiden, but barely a handful were ever involved with at least ten of the runners never involved with a meaningful chance.
Of those who were competitive, Somoud looked the likely winner when hitting the front 650m out under Richard Mullen, but they were unable to repel a late challenge from Alhaan Al Reef.
A 4-year-old colt, trained by Al Hammadi for Al Ajban Stables where the handler is based, the winner was having his third career start and building on a promising third on the dirt at Al Ain, on his previous outing in the middle of December.
Slowly away, he was given time to find his stride by Avranche and they were able to tag onto a select group of runners with the majority beaten at halfway.
Once in the straight, Avranche’s mount picked up well to hit the front 75 from home and the pair winning going away at the line.
Avranche said: “Obviously the start was not ideal and then we had some traffic problems, but once we had racing room he was always going well and then picked up nicely to win his race in decent style.”
The main support race, the 2,400m Group 3 Arabian Triple Crown R3 for the 4-year-olds, produced a thriller with the lead constantly changing hands throughout the final 700m.
Hakeemat Muscat and Szczepan Mazur, denied on Wadeeaa in the feature, emerged on top with the 4-year-old filly powering home in the final 200m to snatch the spoils.
Trained by Younis Al Kalbani forMuscat Stud For Pure Arabian Horses, who also bred the filly, she was winning for a third time, after two victories in her native Oman on the dirt surface at Muscat, but was making it third time lucky here in the UAE having finished runner-up in both the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship, over 1600m and the 2,200m UAE Arabian Derby on her previous outings.