Champion Trainer Ernst Oertel enjoyed a Thoroughbred winner at Jebel Ali on Friday but is better known for his Purebred Arabians and saddles Nymphea Du Paon, who will be hard to beat in the Group 3 Arabian Triple Crown Round 2, the 2,200m feature at Abu Dhabi this evening.
Winner of the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship on her local debut, she was then first past the post in the Arabian Triple Crown Round 1 but later disqualified having tested positive for a prohibited substance.
She still looks the most likely winner under champion jockey Tadhg O’Shea, who said: “She has a touch of class and is a very nice filly. This will be her third start for us and she was a Group 2 winner in France.”
When she was disqualified in the Arabian Triple Crown Round 1, the lucky recipient of the Listed prize was AF Al Hazer who heads the weights in the main support race, the Emirates Colts’ Classic.
Trained by Ibrahim Al Hadhrami, he has won four of his five career starts, tasting defeat for the first time on his most recent outing when only seventh.
He has twice been chased home by Molahen Alham, representing the Oertel/O’Shea combination, and it would be no surprise to see the pair finish first and second again here.
Thirteen have been declared for the only Thoroughbred contest, the 2,200m Abu Dhabi Championship Prep, including five trained by Satish Seemar who saddled a 1-2-3 at Jebel Ali on Friday.
Of the quintet that were on the podium last Friday, stable jockey Richard Mullen chooses Inthar, seeking a third course win and second at 2,200m this season.
Paul Hanagan has chosen to ride Amaan from the three owned by Sheikh Hamdan with the owner’s second jockey, Dane O’Neill, aboard Sefri, trained by Erwan Charpy.
