Somoud preps for Cup defence

Ed Marnane

Somoud, trained by Frenchman Jean de Rouelle, can advertise his HH The President Cup (Group 1) next month claims by winning the prep at Abu Dhabi on Thursday, the highlight of the six-race card. Owned by Yas Racing, Somoud is penalised for winning the HH The President Cup last year and must concede weight to his 10 rivals.

He arrives in good form having finished five lengths behind French champion Arabian First Class in the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown, Group 1, over the same course and distance, last month. Somoud, the mount of Antonio Fresu, will take plenty of beating.

Champion trainer Bhupat Seemar introduces the former Charlie Appleby-trained Western Writer in the final race, a 1600m handicap. He cost his owners, Athbah Racing, a jaw-dropping AED 1.8m (R8.3m) at the Racing in Dubai Sale in September, the most expensive horse sold at the auction. By Shamardal, he recovered from a serious injury when fracturing his pelvis 12 months ago before going on to win at Chelmsford and Windsor for Godolphin.

Rated 97, he makes his UAE debut in a race that won’t take much winning as most of his rivals are bang out of form and having only raced six times, he’s open to further improvement.

Doug Watson, fresh from saddling three winners at Meydan on Sunday, runs Silver Jubilee, the main threat to Western Writer. He impressed when scoring at Jebel Ali earlier in the campaign, bolting up in a maiden on his seasonal reappearance. The form of the race has been given a boost by the runner-up (Quality Humor), who easily won at Jebel Ali before running a creditable third behind Royal Mews in a valuable handicap at the Dubai Carnival World Cup at Meydan five days ago.

Silver Jubilee, to be ridden by Pat Dobbs, can bounce back after running poorly on dirt at Meydan, trailing in a long way behind Tahdeed. He was reported to have never felt comfortable on the surface.

Racing opens with a typical competitive 1200m handicap, in which a full field of 14 have been declared. South African Ernst Oertel, the top trainer at Dhabi this season, is three-handed and AF Hajeej, the mount of Tadhg O’Shea, makes most appeal.

A consistent and reliable type, he has been in good form this season, winning at Al Ain on his seasonal debut and never finishing worse than third in three appearances since. It’s an obvious concern AF Hajeej has failed to produce his best form on turf, showing little in three previous runs on grass.

In a wide-open looking contest the unexposed Hamloola is one to consider on his handicap debut. He has progressed this season and ran well when third behind Es Sudan here last month. The application of first-time blinkers may help.

Race 4, the valuable Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic, for UAE-bred four-year-old Arabians, has attracted a maximum field of 16, unsurprising with AED 100,000 (R462,000) up for grabs.

The unbeaten Asmaa Al Wathba, winner of a maiden at Sharjah last month, sets the standard and drawn nicely looks the one to beat in the hands of Bernardo Pinheiro. He renews rivalry with Fadiah Al Wathba and is fancied to confirm the form.

Pat Dobbs is a noteworthy booking for the unraced Nagham Al Wathba, trained locally by Jean-Claude Pecout. Dobbs has enjoyed plenty of success at Abu Dhabi this season and is operating at impressive 29% strike-rate.

Of the others, Muram is one to consider for trainer Jaber Bittar. Rated 84, he steps down in class having run well when fourth behind Unleashed in Listed company here last month, a solid effort on his turf debut.

The Abu Dhabi Colts Classic, thirty minutes later, looks a good opportunity for once-raced local-bred Fadwaan under Antonio Fresu. Trained by Ahmed Al Mehairbi, he created a big impression on his racecourse debut at Al Ain. He made all to win by comfortable eight and quarter lengths, a performance that earned the colt a lofty rating of 90.

BEST BET

Race 6 No 3 Silver Jubilee

BEST VALUE

Race 4 No 12 Nagham Al Wathba

BEST SWINGER

Race 6 3-Silver Jubilee and 2-Perfect Love

JACKPOT

(Races 3-6]

R32

Leg 1: 1

Leg 2: 4, 6, 10, 12

Leg 3: 9, 10

Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 4