Training honours at Meydan Racecourse on Sunday went to Fawzi Nass, who saddled a superb treble; Shake Hand, Sharar and Go Soldier Go scoring for the Bahraini handler.
The 1400metre Emirates Holidays Maiden, race two, was the first to go Nass when Shake Hand, seventh to his stablemate Legend Of Cannes three weeks before, beat three rivals under a patient ride from Adrie De Vries. At the rear of the pack for the majority of the race, the Honor Code colt swept past his rivals inside the final 200metres and then race was over; Habooba fishing second by four lengths.
“I suppose on paper that this was a weak maiden,” reflected jockey De Vies “but this horse was very unlucky on his last two starts, with a bad draw. We switched him back to dirt today, which was an easier option and he’s a horse who always works well a home so it’s a nice result.”
There was an even nicer result in race three, the Emirates.com Handicap over 1800metres on turf, when Nass and De Vries combined with Sharar (pictured), one of just two three-year-olds in the race.
The Gun Runner colt was second on his previous run over 1600metres but had it won by that point in this race, powering clear of Capla Crusader by four lengths at the line.
“He’s a classy horse. Today we put a pair of visors on him just to help with the kickback, although it wasn’t a big field,” said De Vries. “We wanted him to have a good experience.”
