Murawih Opens Dubai Racing Club Season
The 2008 – 2009 UAE horse racing season kicked off on Thursday, 6 November 2008. Emirates Airline again sponsored the opening event to the delight of the Dubai Racing Club. The Winter Racing Challenge forms part of the three part horse racing season at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. The other two parts of the season are the Dubai International Racing Carnival followed by the Dubai World Cup. On Thursday, a beautiful horse by name of Murawih, took the victory in the opening race, during the running of the Emirates Hotels & Resorts Trophy.
Murawih is bred and owned by Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and is out of the mare Djamel and sired by D’Albret. He is trained by Eric Lemartinel and put up a good effort to win the Emirates Hotels & Resorts Trophy. Ridden by Daragh O’Donohoe, Murawih was able to keep Rahaf at bay as they charged towards the finish line. After the race, O’Donohoe commented: “He battled well and that was a game effort.” The Emirates Hotels & Resorts Trophy is a novice event that is run over a distance of 1,400 meters and is exclusively for Purebred Arabian horses.
During the running of the Skywards Plate, Blues Ballad delivered a staggering performance by winning the event five lengths in front of the second place finisher. Blues Ballad is sired by Singspiel and showed tremendous courage in this 1,400 meter event. Trained by Satish Seemar, Blues Ballad could not put a foot wrong for jockey Richie Mullen, who said that he was not really surprised that he had won, as Blues Ballad is a very talented horse. Mullen’s second mount for the day, Masquerader, who is trained by Musabah Al Muhairi, won the Emirates Sky Cargo Trophy and Dubai Dreamer, ridden by Royston Ffrench and trained by Ail Rashid Al Raihe, won the Arabian Adventures Trophy. Ffrench then took Aamaqq on a victory run in the Emirates Holidays Handicap which was another perfect performance for the jockey and the trainer.
The UAE horse racing season has kicked off with a magnificent start. Quality horses have entered the various events and the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse has been overflowing with spectator support. If the opening day action is anything to go by, the Dubai Racing Club is in for a successful and exciting racing season.
