Newbury, England: Veteran Purebred Arabian handler Julian Smart showed he is still a force to be reckoned with as his runners stole the major honours at the 34th Dubai International Arabian Races at Newbury Racecourse, when scoring a hat-trick including two prestigious Group 1 victories.
Smart, who spent close to 14 years in Abu Dhabi between 1992 and 2006 and is now based in Qatar, sent out Djainka Des Forges and Gazwan to capture the featured Dubai Duty Free Hatta Interational Stakes and Shadwell Dubai International Stakes respectively on a wet afternoon at the Berkshire venue.
Djainka Des Forges — the joint highest-rated Arabian in the world together with French Derby winner Mister Geoux and Al Mourtazez, a winner of the Emir’s Sword in Qatar — opened the flood gates for Smart when sweeping home under Harry Bentley for an effortless victory in the Hatta International Stakes.
Djainka’s thumping two-and-a-half-length victory over LB Farah, the mount of French champion Olivier Peslier, confirmed her credentials as an Arabian superstar and more than compensated for her defeats in the Emir’s Sword and Dubai Kahayla Classic (G1) earlier this year.
“She’s a real star. To win this is very special as the Dubai International Arabian Races are without a doubt the pinnacle of Arabian racing in England,” said Smart.
“Gazwan also ran a big race in the Shadwell International Stakes. It’s always nice to win top races like these on special days.”
Bentley, who is a regular rider in the UAE, was quick to praise the six-year-old daughter of Kerballa, who has performed exceedingly well at the top of the heap and also won the Group 1 Qatar World Cup on Arc day at Longchamp in Paris.
“She’s bounced back nicely and looks to have returned to her best form,” said the English jockey. “She’s an easy horse to ride and knows what to do. I only had to remind her of her task and she found another set of gears to win as she liked.
“She’s a very nice horse, one of the best of her breed, and I’m sure there’s a lot more to come from her. Julian’s done a great job bringing her back to this level of fitness.”
Commenting on the performance of Gazwan in the meet’s feature race, the Dubai International Stakes, Bentley said: “It was always going to be a tough race with last year’s winner Al Haabib looking the horse to beat.
“But, given the testing conditions, the race panned out quite differently and it was the Omani horse [Djet Taouy] who really gave us a scare.
“But my horse, who has improved immensely, was too strong at the end.
“This is a special meeting for Arabian horses and it’s really nice to have won two of the feature races.”
Smart’s third winner was Abhar, who romped to victory in the Rotana Hotels and Resorts Premier Handicap for Qatar’s Shaikh Mohammad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Earlier in the day, Gill Duffield, one of the most successful Arabian trainers in the world, won the opening two races on the card when two-time British champion jockey Paul Hanagan partnered Aghsaan to victory over favourite Katonahotinroof in the Emirates Premier Handicap Stakes and Rasaasy in the Emirates Equestrian Federation International Stakes.
Both Aghsaan and Rasaasy are owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.
“It’s always very pleasing to win a race for Shaikh Hamdan, who is so passionate about his racing. This was only a handicap but a winner is a winner,” said Duffield of Aghsaan.
“He is a nice little horse who always gives one hundred per cent when she runs. This win will boost her confidence as she did it very nicely and with a fair bit of conviction.”
The Royal Cavalry of Oman struck back to win the third and fourth races as the rain began to clear. Peslier was on board top weight Vulcain Du Clos to deny Hanagan’s Bon Baiser De Faust in a close finish.
“He’s a classy horse, so I rode him confidently,” said the Arc-winning Frenchman. “The ground may not have been suited but he handled it well and won easily.”
Jockey Thomas Henderson had the honour of winning the first of the three Group 1 races on the card when he partnered Al Mouhannad to victory over fellow Qatari raider Meeyur, the mount of Bentley, in the Jebel Ali Racecourse Za’abeel International Stakes.
Close to 8,000 racegoers enjoyed the day at Newbury, the home of Purebred Arabian racing in the UK, where the off-course entertainment rivalled the action on the track.
