The Al Garhoud Sprint result went firmly the way of El Nasseeb, as Antonio Fresu marked his Meydan return with a polished ride that delivered the feature event on Friday’s Dubai Racing Carnival card. Now based in California, Fresu showed he remains fully in tune with Meydan’s tempo, guiding the four-year-old to a commanding victory for trainer Musabbeh Al Mheiri.
El Nasseeb settled just behind a strong early pace in a field that included G1 winner Dark Saffron and multiple G3 winner Mufasa. As the leaders began to tire approaching the 400 metres, Fresu angled his mount out, and once the colt switched leads, he opened up decisively. He surged clear inside the final 200 metres to score by three and a half lengths over Colour Up, confirming the stable’s confidence in him.
“When races go like this I don’t mind taking dirt,” said Fresu, who previously rode as stable jockey to Al Mheiri before moving to the US. “I watched all his races and he goes really well fresh but doesn’t have the early speed against those super-fast horses. I tried to save some ground around the turn and tip him out when he was ready. As soon as he switched his lead he found another gear. He finished up really nicely.”
The father-and-son partnership of Simon and Ed Crisford picked up their first win of the season when Telemark produced a determined effort in the 1400-metre Ford Handicap. Racing on dirt for the first time, he endured kickback, found a gap late under William Buick, and reeled in long-time leader Khanjar by a quarter of a length.
“He took a lot of kickback early and I was worried the leaders would get away,” said Ed Crisford. “But when he got daylight you could see him motoring. It was a tough run first time on the surface.”
The evening then shifted sharply in favour of Tadhg O’Shea and Bhupat Seemar, who combined for three winners. The first came courtesy of Six Speed in the Lincoln Aviator two-year-old Conditions race. Having been slow away on debut, he broke more cleanly this time, tracked Miss Yechance, and moved past her to win by a length and three-quarters.
“He’d been training really well,” said Seemar. “He was better schooled this time and more professional. He has a lot of speed — that’s why he’s called Six Speed — and hopefully his stamina holds for the Guineas path.”
Their second came swiftly when Lino Padrino delivered an impressive debut victory in the 1400-metre Lincoln Maiden. Ruler Of Time, the favourite from Charlie Appleby’s yard, never landed a blow as O’Shea kept his mount wide early, then allowed him to lengthen from the 600 metres, powering clear to a four-length win over Awesome Fleet.
“You won’t see the best of him until he goes two turns,” O’Shea noted. “He has a proper engine.”
The pair completed their treble in the Ford Mustang Handicap with Welcome Dream, who showed speed from his wide draw in stall 11 and made all. He found more when Sir Harmony challenged, and despite the late surge of Don Pacifico, the margin stood at a head at the line.
“Tadhg was moaning about the draws earlier — now he’s happy,” Seemar joked. “He wasn’t fully wound up tonight after a small niggle, so there’s improvement to come.”
The Ford Mach-E Handicap denied them a four-timer when Norato, trained by Julio Olascoaga, arrived late under Silvestre De Sousa to catch Gray Boss in the final strides. The grey, fitter than on his last outing, finished half a length ahead, with Military Artist back in third.
Book Review, a familiar name at Meydan, controlled the Lincoln Navigator Handicap over 2000 metres from the outset. The eight-year-old, trained by Salem bin Ghadayer and ridden by Bernardo Pinheiro, was allowed a softer lead than last time and responded by keeping enough in reserve to beat Moon Blade by two lengths, securing his fifth course win.
The closing Ford Expedition Maiden (1600 metres) went to Honest Moon, who had been third in the Listed Al Bastakiya. Ridden by Saif Al Balushi, he settled just behind the pace, took over early in the straight, and pulled clear for an authoritative four-and-a-quarter-length victory over Elusive Trevor.
Meydan’s next meeting takes place on Friday, 12 December, with the G2 Madjani Stakes set to follow on from the Al Garhoud Sprint result that highlighted this week’s card.
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