Desert Lion roars to fine win at REHC

TDT | Manama

Desert Lion roared to an impressive victory yesterday to lift the Bahrain National Gas Company (Banagas) Cup, which was the ninth and main event of the day at Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club (REHC). Paddy Mathers rode Desert Lion to the win, much to the delight of owner Isa Mahmood Al Seddiqi and trainer Hesham Al Haddad. Desert Lion completed the eight-furlong race in one minute 37.080 seconds to claim the biggest share of the BD5,000 total prize.

The four-year-old was a length-and-a-half ahead of runner-up Mushtaq, competing for Al Asayel Racing, Khalid Hilal and Ebrahim Nader. Solar Flair came third for Al Mohamediya Racing, Jaber Ramadhan and Andrew Elliott; whereas The Emperor Within finished fourth for M and E Racing, Alan Smith and Abdulrahim Jasim. Meanwhile, five Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) Cups were up for the taking. In the sixth race, Antar won a BBK Cup for Haitham Salah Abdullatef, Abdulla Kuwait and Ebrahim Nader. Antar secured the triumph in 1:55.692 over a distance of nine furlongs with a BD2,500 total prize. Valentine came second one-and-a-quarter lengths behind for Abdulla Fawzi Nass, Hesham Al Haddad and Ali Moosa.

Parchment was third for Victorious, Alan Smith and Abdulrahim Jasim; while Kashgar came fourth for Ali Hasan Ahmed Salman, Samir Dawood and Ali Samir. In the day’s fourth race, also for a BBK Cup covering five furlongs with a BD2,000 prize, Batmobile claimed the win in 1:03.234 for M and E Racing, Alan Smoth and Rosie Jessop. Batmobile was six lengths in front Khattar, representing HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, James Naylor and Mohammed Al Saffar. Najim was third for HH Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, James Naylor and Brett Doyle; while rounding out the top four was Misk, competing for HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, James Naylor and Hassan Al Saffar. In race three, Krayan 1706 was the winner in 1:11.637 for Victorious, Yousif Taher and Abdulla Faisal; race two was claimed by Priest in 1:25.488 for Sadan Mazin Al Sholah, Ramzi Al Baqlawa and Andrew Elliott; while The Dark Knight triumphed in race one in 1:28.080 for Victorious, Alan Smith and Lee Newman. Each of the first through third races were for a BBK Cup. Elsewhere yesterday, Macaque triumphed in the eighth race with a time of 2:06.820 for Victorious, Hesham Al Haddad and Abdulla Faisal; and Sidewinder claimed first place in the seventh race in 2:06.343 competing for Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Abdulla Kuwaiti and Abdulla Faisal.