Ton-up and a Treble for Turner at Wolverhampton
It was a landmark day for former ARO Champion jockey David Turner, as he joined the elite 100 winners club, when riding Stonehenge to victory as the second leg of a treble he recorded at the Dunstall Park track on Sunday.
Getting the ball rolling with Crahck for new connections of Emma Mooney and Bev Deutrom in the Qassam (0-65) Handicap, he also survived the appalling freak hailstorm to conclude his treble with Abiyah Athbah in The Arabian Racehorse Magazine Maiden Stakes. Turner thanked all the connections over the years who had made those winners possible and received a silver photoframe from ARO Director Genny Haynes to mark the occasion.
Deutrom was slightly surprised by Crahck's win saying:
" We’ve not had Crahck that long, so he’s not been in work as long as I would like him to have been before his first run this season, but he stayed on at the end, and came back again to win. He’s a nice easy, genuine horse to deal with and he will probably go to Bath next weekend.”
The card featured three races supported by the HARC as open handicaps, though only My Boy Sam was qualified for a HARC bonus which he gained when finishing fifth in the Darling Doraa (0-55) Handicap over 2 miles, the race won by Stonehenge.
The remaining four races were sweepstakes races with mementoes to the winner sponsored by: The Arabian Racehorse magazine maiden won by the Peter Hammersley trained Abiyah Athbah; The Arabian Racehorse newsletter (0-95 hcp) won by the James Owen trained Farhaa, their parent company, and ARO official photographer, Equine Creative Media maiden won by Tijaary also trained by Owen, and the Deborah Burt Sculptor Fillies' and Mares' stakes won by the Phil Collington trained Anfaas.
Owen also completed a treble with wins for Tijaary, Jadaayil and Farhaa. Of Jadaayil's win he said:
"That was great for Antonia [Peck], she’s a really hard worker. That Chepstow form’s quite strong, it seems to be working out, with Rafeef running well here too. I fancied Jadaayil today, she liked the surface, the dam Zormania did too. She stayed well and looks a nice filly."
He continued saying:
"As for Farhaa – she’s an absolute professional. We took her to Belguim and there was no pace so when she hit the front and started to drift, I thought she was just staring about, which she was, but she was perfect today. Obviously Halib Des Forges is a 1m4f horse so we were entitled to quicken past him up the straight, but she and Rafeef did it nicely, they’ve all run to their marks really.
"We’ll speak to Richard Lancaster and hopefully go to one of the DIAR prep races at Newbury with Farhaa. She hasn’t run on grass, but she’s a good moving filly and has done plenty of work on grass at home. I’m sure she will stay 1m2f, she’s a nice big rangy filly, thriving all the time and she’s got a very, very good mind. I think she might be the best horse we have.”
Anfaas was the first winer of the UK season for Collington, but also marked a first win for Stephen Harrison who has come back out of retirement after two years away. He is another member of the ARO 100 winners club, a feat he achieved back in 2015 at Hereford on Amyzing Zayin.
The Arabian Racehorse also sponsored the Best Turned Out Award in those four races which were awarded respectively to the grooms of Kayack, Abiyah Athbah, Anfaas and Farhaa with the winers receiving a photo of their choice from each race.
