TM Fred Texas routs field to win Kahayla Classic

Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani owned TM Fred Texas produced an electrifying burst of speed in the final furlong and swept past the field to record a smashing victory in the US $250,000 Kahayla Classic a Group I race for Pure Arabians, the traditional curtain raiser on Dubai World Cup night at the Meydan racecourse in Dubai yesterday.TM Fred Texas had the race well sewn up before the defending champion Seraphin Du Paon could pounce on him. Though the Dubai challenger closed with a rush, the lead established by TM Fred Texas was too much to bridge. Timadit Al Mels also finished on impressively ending up third. TM Fred Texas’s win in the 1,200 metres Losail Cup in Qatar earlier this month was far from impressive. But his connections were confident of his class and he justified their faith in splendid fashion.Running in his pet distance of 2,000 metres, TM Fred Texas showed to be a different proposition altogether. After being held back in about the eighth position as Nieshan and Fryvolous set the pace, Fred Texas showed up on the outside and then left the field flat footed in the final furlong to win by nearly two lengths.Earlier in March TM Fred Texas was named as the American Horse of the Year for 2011 and now running in the colours of Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, the five-year-old son of Burning Sands was given a superb ride by Adrie De Vries who clinched his second success in the Kahayla Classic. The Dutchman had earlier won on Al Shahania Stud’s Jaafer in 2010.TM Fred Texas record in UAE-supported races just got better. He first finished second in the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Grade 3) race in Houston in April last year. In June he went on to accomplish a historic Group 1 win in Kentucky and a month later was back to score another stunning success against a classy opposition in the Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup (Grade 2), another race organised by the Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Flat Racing Festival in Delaware. Manager for Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, Khalfan al-Suwaidi was elated with the success of Fred Texas. “I am lost for words. I am so nervous at the moment and that I am shaking. He has been a great horse and today he has proved he is the best. For him to come here and win this classic is something we have dreamed about ever since Jaafer won here. Hope we can do our best now in the other races too,” manager for Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, Khalfan al-Suwaidi told the Gulf Times.Umm Graibaah Farm spokesman Mohammed Abdullah al-Mannai said. “First of all I would like to congragulate Sheikh Tamim bin Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani and this victory is not only for Umm Graibaah Farm but an achievement for Qatar also. The win in this classic means a lot to us as we have begun our racing operations only last year.”“This is a tremendous victory for Sheikh Joaan and Qatar. Fred Texas is a top class horse and we are so happy with this win. He has a brilliant record of 11 wins in 14 starts, which is really world class. This should encourage other Qatari owners to compete at this level,” an elated QREC general manager Sami Jassim al-Boenain said.Ronald Martino, the trainer, who has been handling the champion for some time now said, “He is simply such a classy horse and each time he goes out there he gives it 110 per cent. We always thought he was good enough to take on the best and today he is gone way past in proving this. What makes this animal special is his willingness to work and show his class each time he goes on to the race track.”“I knew he would beat these horses if he was in good enough shape. Hats off to my assistant, Hector Castellano, he has been here six weeks with the horse in his hands. I expected to win. He’s just all horse, a classy animal,” Martino added“It is a dream which has been fulfilled. It was our ambition to race Fred Texas in the Kahayla Classic and what a performance he gave us tonight. I must thank Sheikh Joaan for giving me the opportunity to be here on this glorious day for Qatar,” assistant trainer Hector Castellano explained. “Perhaps the fact that we were not the favourite helped us to an extent. But honestly, we believed in him and he has shown us the stuff he’s made off with such a huge win,” said the Dutch jockey.“He is a straight forward horse and I could sit anywhere with him. Turning for home, he travelled very well and once he quickened he was never going to stop. It has been really amazing to win this race on two occasions.”Later in the day Monterosso led home a Godolphin one-two in the Dubai World Cup over 2000 metres when he swept past his stablemate, Capponi, to win the world’s richest race. The five-year-old, ridden by Mickael Barzalona, advanced from a prominent position to win a race in which he finished third last year.