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Interpret wins title at Jebel Ali Racecourse

Trainer Al Muhairi and jockey De Sousa steal the limelight at Jebel Ali Racecourse

Interpert, ridden by Silvestre De Sousa, wins the 1800m race at the Jebel Ali Racecourse in Dubai on Friday. Photo by Mukesh Kamal/ Khaleej Times

Dubai — Silvestre de Sousa rode Interpret to a track record breaking victory in the 1800m Shadwell TB Rated Conditions, Jebel Ali Stakes Prep, the feature of the fifth meeting at the Jebel Ali Racecourse on Friday afternoon. Haazeq, ridden by Royston Ffrench, was second and behind them came Sefri in the hands of Wayne Smith.

“He needed the run last time out at Meydan,” said winning jockey Silvestre de Sousa. “He likes the track here and he picked up very nicely to win by a good margin,” he added.

Trainer Musabah Al Muhairi who trains the winner at the Oasis-1 Stables for Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, commented: “We will stick to Jebel Ali and his next target is the Stakes in a couple of weeks. Silvestre gave him a great ride and kept him away from the horses. I think Interpret was in a very good mood and handled the surface nicely.”

De Sousa completed a treble for himself and a double for his boss Musabah Al Muhairi after Muarrab made virtually all to land the fifth race, a 1200m TB Rated Conditions sponsored by Cairo Contracting Company. “He’s still not 100 per cent fit and there’s more to come from him after almost one year layoff,” he said.

In the fourth race, Silver Galaxy set sails and travelled away from the rest of the field to win the 1800m Commercial Bank of Dubai TB Handicap, the fourth race on the card by a long distance. “Frankly speaking, Silver Galaxy surprised me with the way in which he has won,” said the winning jockey later. UAE debutant Okimono, ridden by Patrick Dobbs, worked his way through to strike for the in-form Red yard of Doug Watson in the silks of Shaikh Saeed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum in the 1400m TB Maiden, the second race on the card.

Watson was delighted and said: “He is a nice big horse and we have been working with him since his arrival from UK where he was trained with Godolphin.”

The five-year-old well-bred son of Invincible Spirit has been off the track since September 2011 when he was second behind Genius Step in a Maiden event at Goodwood on debut at the age of two.

The new partnership of trainer Saifaldin Deep and Silvestre De Sousa continue to deliver after the Latin American jockey steered Dere’a Al Jazeera home in the 1400m Purebred Arabian UAE-Bred Conditions second leg of the Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Emirates Breeders Society Challenge. Daar Rashid, ridden by George Buckell, landed the final race of the year at Jebel Ali to complete a quartet for trainer Musabah Al Muhairi.