Pat Dobbs hoping Storm Belt can deliver again in Dubai

Peter Ward 09:51 18/12/2014
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  • Great expectations: Storm Belt has been tipped as the favourite to win The Entisar at Meydan after comfortably triumphing in the season opener in Dubai.

    The season’s racing at Mey­dan steps up a gear this evening (Thursday) with a cracking card, including three new List­ed races for Thoroughbreds, as well as the Group 2 Mazrat Al Ruwayah for Purebred Arabians.

    The penultimate event, The Entisar, a 2,000m Listed contest, has attracted the biggest field of the three Thoroughbred features with 10 declared, including Storm Belt, a very impressive course winner over 1,900m six weeks ago.

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    Trained by Doug Watson, he is the choice of stable jockey Pat Dobbs with Adrie De Vries picking up the spare ride on stable compan­ion Cooptado.

    Watson said: “We have always really liked Storm Belt and had this race in mind for him after his win at the first Meydan meeting this sea­son.

    “He has been working well since but it was a tough choice for Pat as Cooptado is a nice horse as well. We hope both have a decent chance.”

    Satish Seemar saddles three in the race with stable jockey Richard Mullen electing to partner Farrier and stable apprentice Marc Mona­ghan aboard Ottoman Empire. Champion Jockey Tadhg O’Shea rides the third Seemar runner, Zambucca.

    Eight are set to face the starter in the 1,200m Listed Garhoud Sprint and again Watson saddles a lead­ing contender who has already won this season, this time The Taj. Suc­cessful over course and distance a fortnight ago, he is one of five run­ners in the race owned by Sheikh Hamdan and the choice of Dane O’Neill.

    The same owner’s Rafeej won the equivalent race last year, when it was just a conditions event. Trained by Musabah Al Muhairi, he will be ridden by Silvestre De Sousa with last year’s runner-up, the same owner’s Tamaathul, the mount of Wayne Smith for Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

    Oisin Murphy partners the Dhru­ba Selvaratnam-trained Sholaan, another to consider in a wide open contest.

    Seemar looks to have two lead­ing contenders in the 1,600m Dubai Creek Mile with Mullen electing to ride Surfer, third in last season’s Group 1 concluding round of the Al Maktoum Challenge.

    Selvaratnam’s local debutant Grand Salute was a Group One winner in Uruguay but is penal­ised for that success so Le Bernar­din, already a course and distance winner this season, looks a bigger threat. He will be ridden by Roys­ton Ffrench for his main employer Al Raihe.

    The meeting opens with the 1,600m Group 2 Muzrat Al Ruwayah, the only Purebred Ara­bian contest in which Areem, thrice a Group One winner last season, makes his dirt debut.

    He sports the yellow, green and white silks of Sheikh Mansour and is trained by Majed Al Jahouri.

    He has to give weight to six rivals but, if handling the surface, will be hard to beat under De Sousa.

    Bigg N Rich and Versac PY look the most likely to benefit should the dirt prove an issue for Areem.

    The action then moves on to Al Ain on Friday, highlighted by a 1,000m conditions race, The First Leg Of The Al Ain Sprint Series. Only seven have been declared, with the three at the top of the weights looking the trio to concen­trate on.

    De Sousa rides Alize for Saifaldin Deeb, with Dobbs aboard Sha’Red for Yousef Al Bloushi.

    However, with apprentice Saeed Al Mazrouei taking a valuable 3kgs off his back, the Majed Al Jahouri-trained Shateh could be the one to beat

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