Nawwaar, winner of both the Listed National Day and HH The President’s Cups last year, as well as the prep race for the latter, bids to maintain his unbeaten record in the Capital when facing seven rivals in today’s National Day Cup Prep, the only Thoroughbred race on the card.
– Meydan race course to open newly designed track
Trained by Ali Rashid Al Raihe for Sheikh Hamdan, he is penalised for his big race victories but is the choice of jockey Dane O’Neill.
Sheikh Hamdan actually owns half of the eight runners, including Derbaas , winner of this race in each of the last two seasons as well as the 2012 National Day Cup. He too is trained by Al Raihe and stable jockey Royston Ffrench will be aboard.
The same owner’s Jawhar, to be partnered by Pat Dobbs for Doug Watson, could prove to be the best of the rest.
Champion Trainer Ernst Oertel and Champion Jockey Tadhg O’Shea won the Purebred Arabian equivalent last year with Shayel Aldhabi and combine this year with Nymphea Du Paon.
The winner of six of her eight career starts, including four in the UAE last year, she could be the one they all have to beat – although she is penalised for two Group Three victories last season.
Al Raihe and Ffrench combine with AF Lafeh, who has the benefit of a run under his belt this season, as does Marzooq.
The latter, the mount of Harry Bentley, is trained by Majed Al Jahouri who carried all before him in the local Group One contests and made a great start to this season by saddling Thakif and Bentley to win the featured Group 3 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup at Abu Dhabi last Sunday.