IT’S DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR SEEMAR AND JOCKEY MULLEN AT MEYDAN
▶ Al Raihe and O’Shea also clock two wins last night, one on dirt and the other on turf
There was double delight for a duo of trainer-jockey combinations at Meydan Racecourse last night.
Richard Mullen rode the Satish Seemar-trained Yulong Warrior to victory in the fourth race, a maiden, and the sixth atop Storyboard, a handicap rated for horses 71-79, both over 1,600 metres on the dirt.
Tadhg O’Shea successfully navigated Scrutineer to a win in the third race, a handicap (80-89) on dirt and the Irish jockey was back in the winner’s enclosure alongside Emirati trainer Ali Rashid Al Raihe after being first past the post on Good Trip in the the concluding handicap (85-94) on turf.
Mullen made all on board Yulong Warrior to win by a length-and-three-quarters from the Al Raihe-trained Roy Orbison with O’Shea atop.
Rashed Bouresly’s New Arch under Jesus Rosales was a farther seven-and-a-half lengths back in third.
“He contested some very good maidens in Ireland and performed with credit, before Satish bought him at the sales in June,” said Mullen of Yulong Warrior. “It has taken him a while to acclimatise and to adapt to dirt racing but he is still learning about this different type of racing.
“Whatever he achieves this campaign, he is going to be a lot better horse next season as he matures and gains more experience.
“As you saw there, he was not sure what to do early on and wanted to go straight as we approached that first turn. He will only improve, both physically and mentally.”
Mullen changed tact for his second victory of the evening.
The UAE champion jockey had Storyboard tucked in midfield in the first 1,000m and made smooth progress to win by more than two lengths from Doug Watson’s Tobaco under Harry Bentley.
“He came from Andre Fabre in France who is renowned for taking his time and being patient with his horses and we are reaping the rewards for that,” Mullen said of Storyboard. “He is an easy horse to ride because he does everything you ask of him but is going to be better over further.
“Like Yulong Warrior he is just getting used to the tempo of dirt racing and will be an exciting prospect next season as he is going to grow and fill out.”
For Al Raihe, Scrutineer’s victory ahead of Lytham St Annes in the third race marked a change in fortunes for his charge.
“He was a bit unlucky in some of the races,” the Emirati trainer said. “He was runner-up three times and we knew he would come good eventually, and he did it very nicely tonight.”
Good Trip prevailed in a tight finish to claim the eighth and final race of the card to complete an Al Raihe-O’Shea double.
O’Shea got the five-year-old son of Dansili up in the last few metres to win by a short head from Muzdawaj under Fernando Jara.
“He won for us more than two years ago and it was very pleasing to see him win again,” Al Raihe said. “It was his fourth start for the season, and to be honest, he has run in good company and we thought a prize at this level was within his reach. Tadhg gave him a perfect ride.”
General Line, trained by Omar Daraj, took the open race under Xavier Ziani and Adrie de Vries rode Ismail Mohammed’s Travis County to victory in the second.
Watson took a trip to the winner’s enclosure after Jim Crowley steered Ejaaby to win the fifth race and Gerald Mosse powered Ahmed Al Shemaili’s Grand Dauphin to victory in the seventh.
It has taken him a while to acclimatise and to adapt to dirt racing, but he is still learning about this different type of racing ... He is going to be a lot better horse next season RICHARD MULLEN Jockey for Yulong Warrior