*** Desert Lion, Safwa win Al Hawaj Cups | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Desert Lion, Safwa win Al Hawaj Cups

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Desert Lion and Safwa lifted the Al Hawaj Cups yesterday to highlight an exciting eight-race card at Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club (REHC) in Riffa.

Desert Lion won the eighth and last race of the afternoon while Safwa triumphed in the penultimate event. Ridden by Paddy Mathers for owner Isa Mahmood Al Seddiqi and trainer Hesham Al Haddad, Desert Lion clinched first place in the 10-furlong finale offering a BD3,000 prize with a winning time of two minutes 03.531 seconds.

The 94-rated four-year-old was three-and-a-quarter lengths ahead of runner-up Nigel, competing for Victorious, Alan Smith and Gerald Mosse; while Neoclassical came third for H and A Racing, Hussain Aldailami and Callum Rodriguez. Noble Prosecutor, Port Douglas, Cartago and Ay Ay rounded out the race classification.

In Safwa’s win, the five-year-old ridden by Abdulla Faisal for His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa and James Naylor completed the eight-furlong event in 1:39.250 to come away with the lion’s share of the BD2,000 prize.

Following were a pair of Alan Smith-trained horses, with Alejandro coming second for Al Adiyat Racing and ridden by Gerald Mosse, while Shawwash was third for Al Nuwayef Racing while jockeyed by Seamus Cronin.

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Finishing fourth through seventh were Shamikh, Nibras, Duwaliya and Parchment. Meanwhile, in the day’s sixth race, Prince Elzaam lifted the Ebrahim bin Saad Al Romaihi Cup after winning the eight-furlong event with a BD2,000 prize.

Callum Rodriguez rode the four-year-old, 87-rated winner to first place for Al Mohamediya Racing and Jaber Ramadhan in 1:37.650. Cloud Drift was halfa-length behind as runner-up competing for Gunners Racing, Alan Smith and Gerald Mosse; while taking third place was Gateway for Mustafa Jaffar Ali Omran, Osama Hashim and Seamus Cronin. In the day’s first event, Kuheila’t Al Adiyat 1782 triumphed to claim the Al Wasmiya Cup.

Abdulla Faisal rode the victor to finish the five-furlong distance in 1:10.430, a length-anda-quarter ahead of Al Jellabieh 1752, ridden by Hussain Makki. They made it an impressive one-two in the race for owners Victorious and trainer Yousif Taher.

Al Krush 1751 came third for Al Sakhir and Jaffar Marzooq, while ridden by Paddy Mathers. Elsewhere yesterday, Paco Man was the winner for Abdulla Fawzi Nass, Hesham Haddad and Hasan Al Saffar in the fifth race over 10 furlongs with a BD2,000 prize, finishing ahead of Ol Blue Eyes and Dance Monkey; Forbidden Land triumphed in race four over seven furlongs to claim the lion’s share of the BD2,000 prize for Hasan Mefareh Alajmi, Yousif Taher and Abdulla Faisal, with Jamais Assez and Darkash finishing behind; Taufan finished ahead of Afrah and Al Aafoor in the third race over seven furlongs with a BD2,000 total prize to win for HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, James Naylor and Abdulla Faisal; and Khawafy won race two for HH Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, James Naylor and Paddy Mathers, beating Khaalida and Mughayer to the finish to claim the seven-furlong, BD2,000 event.

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