Stakes are high with two Listed races at Jebel Ali Racecourse on Sunday

Amir Naqvi, Sports Editor

Jebel Ali Racecourse is set to host a pair of Listed races on Sunday, two biggest events of their season calendar.

The 1950m Jebel Ali Stakes and 1000m Jebel Ali Sprint are due to play out Sunday afternoon after a change in fixtures by the Emirates Racing Authority, allowed Sharjah to take Jebel Ali’s now traditional Saturday spot.

The seven-race card dedicated to Thoroughbred racing is offering a staggering Dhs1,436,000 in prize money, a major chunk of which, in fact a little over two thirds, Dhs1million to be precise, will go towards the co-featured Sprint and Stakes, which split the amount between them down the middle.

Both races carry Listed status and feature some of the top names, including the return of past champions. And while the Sprint over 1000m will feature Musabbeh Al Mheiri’s 2019 and 2020 winners, Thammim and Alkaraama respectively, while Bhupat Seemar saddles Stakes defending champion Saltarin Dubai, who narrowly won the race last year for the trainer’s uncle Satish Seemar.

With Jim Crowley in the saddle Thammin won the race by a comfortable four lengths in 2019 and finished a length and a half in second behind his stable companion and Shadwell team-mate Alkaraama a year later.

Alkaraama fell short in his bid last term when taking third but has already put his hand up as one of the favourites after battling to a slender course and distance win a month ago.

The ‘home team’ of Jebel Ali Racecourse patron Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum will be represented by Zamaani, who debuted for trainer Nicholas Bachalard at Abu Dhabi having been transferred from Simon and Ed Crisford’s yard in Britain earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Stakes over 1950m meanwhile will see Saltarin Dubai line up alongside stablemate Irish Freedom, another with strong credentials over the longer distance. The former’s two runs this season have been tepid, which puts Doug Watson’s Lost Eden down as red hot.

Watson’s charge was last seen dominating Algiers in a track and trip event on 29 January, with the latter going on to win the Group 3 Jebel Ali Mile subsequently a fortnight ago.

Both feature races are sponsored by ARM Holding, while the rest of the seven races on the card will be backed by Dubai Real Estate Centre, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Al Shafar Investment, Shadwell and Jebel Ali Racecourse.

Shareef Al Halawani, manager of Jebel Ali Racecourse, said: “I would like to convey the greetings of our founder and patron Sheikh Ahmed to everyone.

“We thank the sponsors for their valued sponsorship and the Emirates Racing Authority for its efforts and continuous cooperation in developing racing in the UAE and here at Jebel Ali.

“The efforts of the management and those involved in racing have had a huge impact on enriching the quality of racing here at Jebel Ali Racecourse and we hope the racegoers will have a good time at the races this Saturday when we host our seventh meeting of the season,” he added.