HE finished third, second, third and sixth at last year’s Dubai Racing Carnival but perseverance paid off for Ouzo in the feature event (a handicap) at Meydan last Friday (January 12th).

It was a first start of 2024 for Jamie Osborne’s gelding who was the highlight of a brilliant evening for jockey Adrie De Vries. Drawn wide in 11, the pair overcame some shortage of room when emerging from the back of the pack for their winning run in the nine-furlong turf event, denying fellow British trainee Silent Film by half a length.

“I was delighted all the way,” said Osborne. “I thought they’d gone quick, and he was going well enough to pick up, we just needed the splits.We’ll come back for the Lord Glitters Handicap over the same distance in three weeks’ time. But he’ll now go to a rating that he’s never played with before, so he may well find it difficult off his new mark.”

Ouzo’s win was the third leg of a sparkling treble for 52-year-old jockey De Vries.

Filly beats colts

There was an all-star finish to the Al Wasl Stakes when the filly Star Of Mystery beat the colts.

Trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden by William Buick, Star Of Mystery overcame a tardy start and had to pass the majority of the field in the six-furlong turf contest.

Once in the clear, she showed tenacity in beating Group 3 winner Starlust and his fellow European raider Seven Questions.

“She did jump slow but she was in there [the stalls] for a while and she hadn’t run for a while,” said Buick. “She’s a strong traveller and managed to find the horses that we had to beat. I was quite taken with how she travelled through the race. She has plenty of energy and is a really good filly.”

Buick double

It was the second leg of a double for Buick, after Vespasian ran out the winner of the opening Palm Jumeirah Handicap, over five furlongs on turf.

Second on local debut the previous week, Simon and Ed Crisford’s five-year-old was always up with the pace and got the better of his Jebel Ali conqueror, Al Shibli, after a battle to the line. “He jumped well and was comfortable throughout the race,” said Buick. “He’s a very genuine horse. I always felt he was holding the second and he stuck his neck out, so it was a well-deserved win.”

Slattery success

Former champion trainer Bhupat Seemar signalled his intention to regain his title with a double in the last two races.

The first of them, the Palm West Beach Handicap over seven furlongs on dirt, gave jockey Andrew Slattery his first Meydan win.

The Irish rider partnered Border Edge, always up with the pace, to a three-quarter length win over Nyaar, second for the third time in a row.

“We went through the race this morning and we hoped to have the box seat,” said Slattery. “We got that and it was all very easy from there.”