Rio Angie rides to impressive win on opening night at Meydan

Sam Hitchcock on Rio Angie wins the Conditions race at Meydan’s opening meeting on Thursday, October 5, 2020. Courtesy Erika Rasmussen/DRC

Rio Angie kick started her second season with an impressive victory in the feature race at Meydan’s opening meeting on Thursday.

Trained by Doug Watson and ridden by Sam Hitchcott the three-year-old filly by Honor Code made all the running to finish eight-and-a-quarter lengths clear of Tadhg O’Shea on Commanding over the 1,400-metre trip.

Rio Angie made a winning debut over the track-and-trip last season and was fourth in the UAE 1000 Guineas in her last start.

Jumping out of Gate 1, Hitchcock quickly moved to the front and the filly strode clear to turn the seven-runner field into a procession.

The UAE champion trainer Satish Seemar and his stable jockey Richard Mullen registered their first wins of the season.

They took the opening prize with Lady Snazz and were first past the post in the fifth on Kinver Edge.

Mullen drove Lady Snazz to the front just pass the halfway mark from stable companion Litecoin under O’Shea and went on to win by three-and-a-quarter lengths.

“We always thought highly of her,” Seemar said of the four-year-old daughter of the 2008 Dubai World Cup winner Curlin.

“Being by Curlin they always have a little bit of late start. This season, she has got a lot more muscles and development.

“So we were positive but she did surprise me. She ran a very classy race from right out of the gate. Richard allowed her to do her own thing and she was very impressive.”

Kinver Edge too won at a canter from ex-Godolphin horse Golden Goal.

“He’s been showing well in his work and we were hopeful, and he won pretty well,” Seemar added.

Connor Beasley on board Zhou Storm got off the mark for his new employer Ali Rashid Al Raihe of Grandstand Stables.

Beasley had to battle it out from start to finish to prevail by a short head from Rare Ninja under Royston Ffrench over the 1,200-metre distance.

Ffrench made up for that narrow defeat by taking the next race on Rich And Famous with an impressive ride from the widest draw in Gate 11 over the same trip.

He joined Beasley, who jumped out of gate 1 on Falsehood, in the front before going clear on the final 400m to win from Royal Sands under Adrie de Vries.

Xavier Ziani rounded off the meeting with victory on Firnas to complete a double for Emirati trainer Bin Ghadayer.