By Chris Hoover/Dubai
Al Shahania Stud’s Djainka Des Forges and Taraf will spearhead the Qatari challenge in the Dubai Kahayla Classic, a Group I race for Pure Arabians, the traditional curtain raiser on Dubai World Cup night at the Meydan racecourse in Dubai today.
The Julian Smart trained Djainka Des Forges and Taraf will bid to recapture the coveted title for Qatar, which eluded them last year after three wins since 2010. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani owned Jaafer (Adrie de Vries up) inaugurated the Meydan racecourse with Qatar’s maiden win in this prestigious race. This was followed by Al Shaqab Racing’s TM Fred Texas (2012) and Al Mamun Monlau’s (2013) success.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan owned Rabbah De Carrere prevented a hattrick for Qatar with a narrow win over Djainka Des Forges in 2014.
However, the Smart trainee who is in great form, goes into the US$ one million contest with an outstanding chance. The talented filly which skipped HH The Presidents Cup in Abu Dhabi, finished second to Al Shaqab Racing’s Al Mourtazez in the prestigious HH The Emir’s Sword in the last week of February in Doha. She has the class and the ability to reverse the 2014 verdict. Taraf also has the potential to raise a winning gallop.
“I am very happy that two of our horses have been invited to be a part of the line up in the Kahayla Classic. It is not very often that two horses of the same stable get invited from outside the UAE. So I am very pleased with this development,” Al Shahania Stud trainer Julian Smart told the Gulf Times. One factor that will be a spot of bother for the Qatari contenders is the new surface that the race will be held. The Tapeta surface has been replaced by the sand track for this edition of the Pure Arabian classic.
“The major factor for me is the fact that it will be run on the sand track. Our two fillies are very good on the turf. However Djainka Des Forge handled the Tapeta surface very well last year. It is going to be completely new for them on sand. They train on a similar track at Shahania and if they travel well and keep fit we can expect a good show from them. They both are very talented and are capable of stretching the best in the business on their day,” Smart added.
“I would not be too confident as we know what happened in HH The Emir’s Sword. Djainka was beaten by a superior Al Mourtazez. The World Cup is a very special day and Kahayla is the first race on the card. There will be a lot of pressure but we will be upto the challenge. Let us hope for the best and look forward to an exciting race.”
Richard Mullen will ride Djainka Des Forges while in form jockey Harry Bentley will be astride Taraf. Smart feels that the experience of his riders will be an added advantage. “Mullen knows Djainka very well as he has been riding her for quite some time. Bentley has ridden Taraf extremely well in Europe in the summer. We have two good jockey’s on the saddle. They have the experience of riding Pure Arabians and know the Meydan very well. It is very important and definitely will be an advantage.”
“My two fillies are running out of their elements and there are a lot of good horses in the fray. They are in good form right now and are training very well. It will all boil down to whether they can handle the surface. We were very unlucky to lose out last time with Djainka Des Forges. Hopefully we revere the verdict this time. It is going to be a very tough race. However, we are in the race to win it,” Smart concluded.
Amongst the others in the fray, Versac PY has been handed another chance to make his trainer Erwan Charpy’s dreams come true after recording an imposing victory in the third and final round of the Al Maktoum Challenge.
The eight-year-old has always been held in high regard by Frenchman Charpy, who admits to dreaming about winning the Kahayla Classic on Dubai World Cup night. He hopes that Versac PY, a horse that has won eight times under his tutelage since 2010, has found the winning formula to make it happen. “Arabian horses have always been very special for me, we have always had a strong relationship with them,” said Charpy,
“Even if we have a quiet year, we always had one Arabian who pulled us out of the water. We had some lovely horses like Santhal, Dhaffaq and of course Versac.
“But yes, the Kahayla Classic is a race I’ve always wanted to win because of this association with Arabians, it’s something that I will really enjoy.”
Charpy said he was not in the least surprised at Versac’s latest win in a race where he was narrowly denied by Raziq 12 months ago. “I thought he would run well because he did a fantastic piece of work the other day, which I had not seen him do for a long time,” said the Green Stables boss. “Both Paul Hanagan and I were very excited because he showed his spark again and looked like the old Versac. “Obviously we’ll take our chances again in the big race, but we still have our little secret weapon in Manark. We working on getting him to relax and stay. Yes it will be very exciting to have two horses in the Classic.”
Deputy Prime Minister of UAE Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan owned Thakif is another formidable contender. He is coming into the race after a glorious hattrick which includes HH The Presidents Cup at Abu Dhabi in February. The seven-year-old chestnut son of Mahabb finished ahead of Abu Alabyad, who was gaining acceleration towards the finish but Thakif somehow staved off the challenge. Abu Alabyad comes into reckoning as a serious challenger based on this run.
Apart from the GCC contenders, a very talented and much spoken about American challenger Valiant Boy is a serious threat to the top contenders. The Elizabeth Merryman trained Valiant Boy has won seven races on the trot and is the latest superstar among Pure Arabians in the USA. Hall of Fame jockey Joel Rosario will be astride Valiant Boy. Trainer Merryman was happy with her ward who has adapted well after he was taken on a run by exercise rider Ali Rawles. “I think he has settled in really well and he had a nice breeze on Monday. Now we will have to see how he shapes up on the world stage.”
Valiant Boy is a prime nominee for the 2014 Darley Horse of the Year Award as America’s best purebred Arabian racehorse, an honour he also earned in 2012. The field also has Abu Dhabi’s Majed al-Jahouri’s Raaziq, and Ali Rashid al-Raihe’s AF Lafeh among others for the race to be run over 10 furlongs.
Purebred Arabian racing received a huge boost after it was announced that IPIC had become the first company to sponsor two races on Dubai World Cup night.IPIC already sponsor the Al Quoz Sprint, but today the petrol company’s name will be added to the Dubai Kahayla Classic, which will now carry a purse of $1 million. The traditional curtain-raiser to Dubai World Cup night was previously worth $250,000. The hike in prize money puts the Kahayla Classic alongside the Godolphin Mile, Dubai Gold Cup and Al Quoz Sprint and takes the total prize-money on Dubai World Cup night to US $30 million. It also becomes the second race to hold a US $1Million purse alongside the Qatar Arabian World Cup in France. It is going to be a tough challenge for the Qatari contenders, but if Djainka Des Forges can handle the surface, she would be a serious threat. Not many fillies have won the Kahayla Classic. This could well be the opportunity for Djainka Des Forges and Taraf to make their mark over the colts.
Djainka Des Forges
