ABU DHABI

January 4th

THE only thoroughbred race on the card, a mile and a half handicap, went the way of the Irish-bred Ukrainian (by Teofilo), ridden by Royston Ffrench for his main employer Ali Rashid Al Raihe. The winner is a son of the Trigo Stakes winner and Group 1 runner-up Livadiya and was sold by breeder Fiona McStay for €100,000 as a foal and re-sold as a yearling for 120,000gns.

MEYDAN January 8th

MEYDAN Racecourse staged the opening fixture of the 2015 Dubai World Cup Carnival on Thursday evening and the American-bred Surfer (by Distorted Humor), trained by Satish Seemar and the mount of Richard Mullen won the Group 2 opening round of the Al Maktoum Challenge over a mile. Victorious in the Listed Dubai Mile Creek, over the same course and distance three weeks earlier, Surfer had been placed in rounds of the Al Maktoum Challenge in the past.

The Carnival’s leading trainer Saeed bin Suroor wasted no time opening his 2015 account and recorded a double, highlighted by the very easy victory of True Story (by Manduro) in the Listed Singspiel Stakes over nine furlongs on turf. Once new stable jockey James Doyle took his mount to the front at the top of the straight, the race was over as a contest.

True Story won the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket last year and was then third in the Dante Stakes before finishing seventh in the Epsom Derby. After three further defeats, he was subsequently gelded.

Bin Suroor had initiated his brace of winners with the appropriately named I’m Back, an Irish-bred son of Exceed And Excel winning the first thoroughbred race on the card, the nine and a half furlong Longines Prima Luna Handicap.

Dane O’Neill was in the saddle and the pair hit the front a furlong out. “He was certainly game,” said O’Neill. “It is nice to get an early winner on the board.”

Second in the five-furlong turf sprint on the card last year, the Fawzi Nass-trained Hototo (by Sleeping Indian) went one better this time, with last year’s winner Ahtoug among his nine victims. He was a first UAE winner for Luke Morris. Faulkner (by Pivotal), winner of the first trial on the Meydan dirt, made it three wins from three official starts when finishing well to land the seven-furlong Longines Saint Imier Handicap under Pat Dobbs, riding for his main employer Doug Watson. The meeting concluded with the seven-furlong Longines Conquest Classic Handicap on turf, won by the Irish-bred Safety Check (by Dubawi), saddled by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin. It was a first UAE winner for apprentice Cam Hardie who said: “I won in England on this horse and it is brilliant to ride a winner at Meydan and at the Carnival.”