Thakif won the 1,600m Group 3 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup as racing returned to the Abu Dhabi turf yesterday evening.
The winner is trained by Majed Al Jahouri and was given a supremely confident ride by Harry Bentley.
The pair stalked stablemate Shateh before cruising past at the top of the straight and were never in danger thereon in.
Bentley said: “I have won four times on this fellow now. He is a very useful performer.”
The 2,200m HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Apprentice Jockey (IFAHR) World Championship was dominated by Ernst Oertel, who saddled the first three home.
Munzade, the mount of Turkey’s Vahdettin Kaplan, led on the line to deny stable companion Najm Alemarat with Forgehill Cezanne running on late to take third.
Oertel said: “We knew all three had a good chance so were very hopeful of winning the race.”
Oertel also supplied the winner of the 2,200m HH Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies’ (IFAHR) World Championship, with Molahen El Alhan landing the spoils under Jadey Pietrasiewicz, from Holland.
The Champion Trainer had wasted no time opening his Abu Dhabi account, combining with Tadhg O’Shea aboard Abhaar who was the comfortable winner of the opening 1,400m maiden on his debut.
O’Shea completed his own double on Live Rich in a 1,600m handicap, a first winner at the fifth attempt for rookie trainer Saeed Hadher Al Mazrouei.
The best finish of the evening was fought out in the only Thoroughbred race, a 1,600m handicap, in which David Smith produced the Satish Seemar-trained Royal Revival to lead in the dying strides.
Bhupat Seemar, assistant to his trainer uncle Satish, said: “That was an exciting finish. We had been looking for a turf opportunity with this horse after a few disappointing dirt runs.”
