Antonio Fresu secured a treble, including the Listed Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 on board Omani trainer Ibrahim Al Hadhrami’s Bahar Muscat, in the ninth race meeting at Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The three wins also moved the Italian’s tally to 41, one behind the UAE jockey’s championship leader Tadhg O’Shea.
Bahar Muscat stretched his perfect record to four with his latest victory, and third over the track and trip.
Drawn in the widest gate in the 11-runner field, Fresu quickly had the AF Albahar colt well-placed in the front before quickening on the home stretch to win from RB Yas Sir and stablemate Suttam Muscat by three lengths and a length-and-a-quarter respectively.
“He’s a very nice colt in the making, now undefeated in four starts,” Fresu said.
“My only concern was the strong head-wind in the early part of the race but he negotiated it very well. He was going well in the last two furlongs and did it easily.”
Al Hadhrami added: “He [Bahar Muscat] has done everything he has been asked to do, and is improving with every run.
“He seems to love the turf track in Abu Dhabi. Obviously we’ll see how he has come out of this race and perhaps the Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 will probably be his next target."
Fresu won the opener on Ahmed Al Shemaili’s AF Falaq and the fourth race on another Al Hadhrami-trained runner - Mutaqadim.
O’Shea pulled one back by taking the second race on Ernst Oertel’s AF Majalis in the silks of his main patron Khalid Khalifa Al Naboodah.
Fresu and O’Shea have made the championship race their own with the latter chasing an unprecedented 10th title. Richard Mullen is the closest challenger in third on 20.
AF Majalis was winning for the fourth time in Abu Dhabi but it was his first for the season.
“He finished third twice and once second in Abu Dhabi this season, and this win was overdue,” O’Shea said.
Fernando Jara and Patrick Cosgrave picked up a winner each in the meeting dominated by Fresu.
Jara took the Wathba Stallions Cup on Mohamed Daggash’s AF Fakhama and Cosgrave took home the concluding thoroughbred handicap on Bhupat Seemar’s Poster Paint.
AF Fakhama, under Jara, won for the first time in 23 starts .
“He has been highly tried this season and has run close in some races,” the 2007 Dubai World Cup winning jockey said of the eight year old Al Kesbe gelding.
“He was spot on tonight. He travelled well and showed enough speed to lead close home. I don’t see any reason why he can’t win another prize or two at this level before end of the season.”
