The conditions race, over 1800m, has attracted a quality field of eight of whom no less than three are Group One winners so, given the strength of this inaugural field, it is hard to see this race not being upgraded in status soon.
The new Al Ain showpiece is worth a very tidy Dh500,000, of which Dh300,000 will go to the winner and HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan looks to hold a strong hand with two runners, both to be saddled by Eric Lemartinel.
Jockey bookings would suggest Najm Alemarat is their main hope, under Gerald Avranche but stable companion, RB Rich Surprise, the mount of Adrie de Vries, looks equally capable of a big run.
Lemartinel said: “We have two nice horses in an exciting new race for Al Ain. It is great they have received such a strong, quality, field for the first running and you would have to hope the race will be upgraded quickly.
“RB Rich Surprise has always gone very well at Al Ain and he stays a lot further so hopefully there will be plenty of early pace in the race for him to aim at. Najm Alemarat also runs very well at Al Ain and should be a big player for the team.”
Al Ain Racecourse management are delighted with the field attracted and racing director, Faisal Al Rahmani enthused: “Basically it is fantastic we can attract three Group One runners for the inaugural National Day Cup. The support of the owners and trainers has been fantastic and we genuinely hope and believe this is a race which will grow in reputation and stature.”
The three Group One winners to which he alludes are Faucon Du Loup, Djet Taouy and Haajeb, successful at the highest level in Russia, France and Meydan respectively. Of the trio, Sheikh Mansour’s Haajeb makes the most appeal as a likely winner having already scored at Al Ain.
He is arguably better over further, having landed the 2200m middle round of the Al Maktoum Challenge in February but he did have the speed to win, at Al Ain, over 1600m in November 2015.
The Ali Rashid Al Rayhi-trained AF Maqayes is an unexposed contender. He’s a winner six times last season, having only made his debut in November 2015, and won his only previous Al Ain outing, over 1600m, just under a year ago.
“Hopefully he is still improving. This is a good race but he should run well with RB Burning Ash perhaps the one to beat.”
