Tadhg O’Shea provided further evidence to demonstrate why he is a deserving eleven-time champion jockey in the UAE when delivering an audacious performance aboard Zabeel Stables star Tuz to win the Group 3 Dubawi Stakes at Meydan on Friday.
The seven-year-old son of American stallion Oxbow made light of a bad draw to romp home an eight and a half length winner of the six furlong contest to mark himself out as a serious contender for the ensuing sprint contests in the UAE.
Tuz broke from stall 13 but O’Shea used his early pace to hit the front and grab the rail from where he totally dominated his rivals, leaving them for dead on the home straight.
“When he’s good, he’s very good,” said O’Shea. “He’s got a lot of speed. He’s a big horse the one good thing about him is he’s got so much early speed.
“He’s an exciting sprinter – he’ll give his roommate Switzerland (Golden Shaheen winner) something to think about in the coming weeks.”
Commenting on his bold performance in the saddle, the Irishman added: “Winners breed winners. I’ve had a good weekend three winners yesterday and two more today. When confidence is up for riders and horses things just seem to happen.
“I always like to stick to basics and everything will come good if you have the right horse.”
Tuz is trained by Bhupat Seemar who a day earlier told Khaleej Times that his stable star was ready to rock ‘n’ roll. And he showed he even had better moves than Mick Jagger .
“Tadhg knows him quite well,” said Seemar. “His main weapon is his speed. We’ve tried to do different things with him but when we tie him up he sulks.
“We were drawn 13 so we said we’re going to use his (speed) advantage and go forward. If they want to come with him they can come with him.
“This is only the second time he has changed his lead (legs) in the straight and when he does that he wins by a couple of lengths.”
If O’Shea thought he had produced the ride of the night Pat Dobbs was willing to challenge that after producing a masterly effort aboard the exciting San Donato to win the feature race of the meeting, the Group 2 Zabeel Mile.
Wearing the yellow silks of Epsom Derby winning owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, Dobbs, showed tremendous resilience to ride a patient race and come from the back of the field to claim a victory that sets up the winner for major races at the Carnival.
Dobbs waited for the gaps to appear and when they did he sent San Donato on his way and the eight-year-old son of Loup De Vega used his turn of foot to squeeze through and claim a significant length and a half victory over a classy field.
“When he’s on song, he’s very good – he carries you into the race very well,” said Dobbs. “I knew going down he was on fire today, he went down keen, which is good to see him like that.
“He obviously needed the gaps to open for him and he can take those gaps so quickly. He’s very professional and a very good horse.”
Meanwhile, two-time British champion jockey William Buick helped himself to three wins on the nin-race card sponsored by leading property developer Azizi.
Legend Of Time was the pick of the retained Godolphin rider’s treble when taking out the Jumeirah Guineas Trial.
“He’s a horse who is going to want further in time, I liked the way he did it, he’s a very progressive horse,” said Buick. “That’s only his third start tonight, so he will only improve and I think you’ll see him improve when he steps up to a mile as well.
“I wouldn’t want to set a cap on him just yet, I think there’s improvement left in him, so hopefully he’ll progress and he can go through the ranks.”
Earlier, Buick partnered Local Dynasty, to win the Zabeel Turf over 10 furlongs.
“He was very straightforward. The pace wasn’t overly strong and it was just about getting him not to do too much in the early stages,” said the rider.
ALSO READ
“He finished off real good. When you go through his form, he’s never really run a bad race, so it’s nice to get his head back in front.”
Buick’s third winner was Walbank who eclipsed his rivals to win theAZIZI Venice handicap.
In-form handler Michael Costa looks to have a promising horse in his yard after Ma Yetal comfortably won the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial on dirt.