Hameem back to his best to land Group 2 Liwa Oasis in Abu Dhabi

Al Hammadi-trained runner produces a fine turn of foot to come from last to first

Adrie de Vries on Hameem wins the Group 2 Liwa Oasis in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, March 6, 2022. - DHRIC

Hameem bounced back from three successive defeats to land the Group 2 Liwa Oasis at Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The Abdallah Al Hammadi-trained five-year-old won seven races on the trot before his first defeat when tried for the first time in the Group 2 The Madjani Stakes on dirt at Meydan on December 16.

He was runner up in his next start when returning to the turf in Abu Dhabi, and finished sixth in the Group 1 President’s Cup in his last start, also on the capital’s track, three weeks ago

With Adrie de Vries in the saddle, Hameem came from last to first with a superb turn of foot to take the feature prize from Ihtesham and Ashton Tourettes by two and three-quarter lengths and a length.

“He needed a couple of races to recover from his first run on the dirt and tonight he seemed like his old best,” De Vries said.

“He was very relaxed and there was a good enough pace in the race. He picked up nicely on the straight, and yes, he seemed the old himself again. He’s a good and classy horse.”

Tadhg O’Shea added another winner to take his season's tally to 55, four more than his closest challenge Antonio Fresu in the UAE jockey’s title race.

The Irishman won the second race on board AF Majalis for trainer Ernst Oertel in the silks of Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah, who took his tally to 32 and well on course for a fifth UAE owner’s championship.

Fernando Jara won the opening race on board Mohamed Daggash’s Sultana and Richard Mullen pipped O’Shea to take the third race on Elise Jeanne’s MH Tawag.

Royston Ffrench rode Salem Al Ketbi’s Muqtadar to victory in the fifth race and Bernardo Pinheiro made all on Helal Al Alawi’s Leadership to take the concluding handicap for the thoroughbreds.

Ffrench denied De Vries from completing a double when he got up in the final 75m to win from Hawafez by three quarter length.

“It was nice to get a win tonight from a spare ride,” FFrench said of his winner on the night.

“He won on his reappearance this season and the connections were hopeful of a good run, and indeed he did run well to win for the second time in three starts.”

Results

5pm: Al Bateen – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m

Winner: Sultana, Fernando Jara (jockey), Mohamed Daggash

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m

Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Al Sharqi – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner: MH Tawag, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne

6.30pm: Liwa Oasis – Group 2 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7pm: Al Khubairah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner: Muqtader, Royston Ffrench, Salem Al Ketbi

7.30pm: Al Nahyan – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner: Leadership, Bernardo Pinheiro, Helal Al Alawi