Al Ain: Friday evening’s fixture at Al Ain racecourse provided a rich harvest for Al Asayl Stables handler Eric Lemartinel and former UAE Champion jockeys, Tadhg O’Shea and Fernando Jara, who all had winning doubles to celebrate at the meeting’s end.

The most valuable race on the card was the finale, the Al Hili Handicap (1000m) which was won by the Musabah Al Muhairi-trained Love To Dance, having her first dirt outing locally after seven runs on the Abu Dhabi turf.

“She has plenty of speed and we were keen to try her over the minimum trip,” said Jara. “All her best form is on dirt and we knew this looked a good opportunity to get her back on the surface she prefers. “She has won nicely.”

The 2007 Dubai World Cup winning jockey was celebrating a minimum trip double having landed the preceding Al Saad Maiden over the same course on ES Khawsi.

The race was fought out by two reserves, Ramadi Al Rawasi and Jara’s mount, trained on the track by Mohd Ramadan.

MH Areeb, produced to lead in the final 100 metres by O’Shea, landed the opening 1600m Wathba Stud Farm Cup (1600m), this meeting’s edition of the series restricted to private owners.

Trained by MH Stable-based Elise Jeanne, it was a fifth career victory but first 1600 metres win and second at Al Ain for the experienced seven-year-old.

“It is obviously the best possible start to the afternoon and Elise does well with the horses she has,” said O’Shea.

The season’s leading jockey was back in the winner’s enclosure 30 minutes later, sporting the famous red and white colours of Shaikh Khalifa having won the Emirates Martyrs’ Cup (1600m), the longer of two maidens on the card, for Lemartinel aboard Meydan Du Paon.

“It was only his second career start and first on dirt,” said O’Shea. “He has handled the surface well and will have learned a lot today as he is still a big baby so, hopefully, he can progress again.”

Owner and trainer completed a double when jockey Gerald Avranche produced Smalah to hit the front inside the final 200 metres of the Jebel Hafeet Handicap (1400m), a comfortable success in the end with the mare scoring going away from runner-up Tha’Er.

It was a second career win, on her eighth outing, for the five-year-old who had landed a 2000 metres maiden at Sharjah in November when partnered by O’Shea.

“I knew she would be staying on,” said Lemartinel. “We hoped she had the pace to cope with the drop to the shortest distance she has tackled and she has finished off very strongly.”

The Zakhir (2000m), a conditions race, provide a milestone for Omani apprentice Saif Al Baloushi who, riding in the yellow and green checks of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs, steered Merzal to an easy victory.

It was the 11th career win for the inexperienced junior, who was making his UAE debut at the meeting, and a first local success for his seven-year-old partner who had also never before won on dirt or at the trip.

The Curragh Racecourse, sponsored the Home Of The Irish Classics Handicap (1400m) the only Thoroughbred race which spotlighted a newly forged association between Al Ain Raccourse and the tradition-steeped headquarters of Irelands’s long racing history.

The Satish Seemar-trained Ru’Oud celebrated the link by doubling his career tally after a long run of outs.

Stable jockey Richard Mullen settled the eight-year-old just behind the pace before staking his claim after straightening and at the finish having more then two lengths to spare. The British-bred gelding’s only previous victory was achieved in a 1200 metres Jebel Ali maiden, back in December 2012 and this was his 15th outing since.