HORSERACING – TSUNDOKU lifted the Late HH Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa Opening Day Cup last night in the first meeting of Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club’s (REHC) Golden Jubilee season in Sakhir.
In attendance were National Arts Council deputy chairman Shaikh Turki bin Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa and Supreme Council for Environment vice-president, REHC High Committee deputy chairman, and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports member Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa, along with other high-ranking officials.
Competing for owners M and E Racing and trainer Paul Smith, Bahraini jockey Abdulrahim Jasim rode Tsundoku to victory in the 1,600-metre third race of the day featuring Bahraini-bred horses, which carried a BD5,000 total prize fund.
The four-year-old colt narrowly beat Al Adiyat Racing’s Chinese Whisper by a short head at the finish, competing for trainers Daniel and Claire Kubler and with Ebrahim Nader in the saddle.
Sea Link came third for Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, Robert McDowall, and Mohammed Jamil; while Bairaq was fourth for Al Afoo Racing, Maher Ebrahim, and Patrick Cosgrave.
Also yesterday in the second race, Redemption Time won the Late HH Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa Cup Graded Stakes for the Afoo-Ebrahim-Cosgrave triumvirate.
The six-year-old gelding took the 1,400m event for imported contenders, also offering a BD5,000 prize, a length-and-three-quarter’s margin from Cracking Gold, competing for Adiyat, the Kublers, and Alec Voikhansky.
Piz Nair was third for the Adiyat-Kublers-Nader connections, while taking fourth place was Competizione for Afoo, Ebrahim, and jockey Abdulla Faisal.
The two cups headlined last night’s stacked eight-race card, held under REHC’s bright lights and all in honour of the Late Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa.
In other races last night, Valenday took the Late HH Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa Cup in race seven, with BD3,000 up for grabs, for owners Al Mohamediya Racing, trainer Fawzi Nass, and jockey Soufiane Saadi; Son of Zous triumphed in race six to raise the Late HH Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa Bahrain Bred Sprint Cup, also offering BD3,000 in winnings, for the M and E-Smith-Jasim trifecta; and Rebel At Dawn won the Late HH Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa Sprint Cup in the fifth race to claim the lion’s share of the BD3,000 prize money for Al Aneed Syndicate, Adel Abdulla, and Jasim.
Elsewhere yesterday, Shaheen clinched the Late HH Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa Bahrain Bred Handicap Cup in race eight for Shaikh Isa bin Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, Abdulla Kuwaiti, and Faisal; Mercantile triumphed for Adiyat-Kublers-Nader trio in race four for the Late HH Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa Mile; and Kuheilan Aafas 1952 won the evening’s first race for owners Al Khaldiya, trainer Yousif Alboainain, and jockey Ali Isa to lift the Late HH Shaikh Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa Waho Cup. All three events carried BD2,000 in winnings.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh