Fast and furious Sahib Du Clos proves a point

Jockey Royston Ffrench delighted after the colt avenged his narrow defeat to Samira De Carrere a fortnight ago in the Abu Dhabi Championship.

The spirited Sahib Du Clos, left, was the success story in Abu Dhabi last night.

ABU DHABI // The owner-trainer-jockey combination of Faisal al Rahmani, Saifaldin Deeb and Royston Ffrench celebrated a great night of racing by claiming a double including the Listed Arabian Triple Crown prize. Sahib Du Clos avenged his narrow defeat to Samira De Carrere a fortnight ago in the Abu Dhabi Championship for three-year-olds by claiming the featured race by a convincing two lengths under Ffrench.

"He has progressed well from his first start," said Ffrench. "He was a bit unlucky last time as he had to come through horses but this time he was kept on the outside and he responded well when I kicked for home." Jesus Rosales could not match the speed of the winner on Samira De Carrere, but the Djouras Tu filly stayed on to take second from the champion trainer Doug Watson's Quite A Show, who was unbeaten in three starts in the UK.

Jinad won his fourth race in five starts in two months for the first of the two winners on the night for the Umm Al Quwain-based Lebanese trainer Deeb. Ffrench made every yard of the running on the five-year-old son of the 2002 Kahayla Classic winner Nez D'or. Sharudy came with a late run to take second from Gabra in the second race, the first of five for the Purebred Arabians. Rod Simpson's Time Out produced a stunning run to upset the President's Cup Prep field from Nesnas and Shadiyda, with the highly-regarded Lahib covered by a wall of horses and not seeing daylight from the inside rail.

It gave jockey William Buick a double, as he won by a short head and denied Ffrench from claiming a treble on the night. Nirwan was fourth and Lahib under the Bahrain-based Frenchman Gerald Avranche came fifth, and two-and-a-half lengths covered the first seven horses to cross the finishing line in the conditions race over 11 furlongs. Dhruba Selvaratnam, who saddled a treble in Jebel Ali on Friday, returned with another prize from his only runner in the meeting when Envisage under stable jockey Buick came with a strong late run to collar the front-running Detonator in the solitary race for the thoroughbreds. The six-year-old Singspiel gelding got up in the last few strides to prevail by a short head after Avranche tried to make all on the top weight Detonator. Monte Alto was a further three-and-a-half lengths in third in the handicap rated 75-100 run over 11 furlongs.

Envisage returned to racing after 15 months following a UK campaign where he won twice. And he was winning for the first time in his four starts for the Jebel Ali yard. Wayne Smith brought AF Asasi from the back of the field to claim the conditions race for the Al Wathba Stud Farm for private owners for the Emirati trainer Bakhit al Ketbi. RS Sanjar stayed on to take second from AF Disan. Tadhg O'Shea produced a well-timed run on the Gillian Duffield-trained Ejaabi to claim the concluding race from stable companion Sakr D'or and Omayyade Thabet. @Email:[e-mail]

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