Moonlight Dash shines to win Longines Chengdu-Dubai International Cup at Jinma Lake

With jockey Richard Mullen at the helm, the 10-year-old came in ahead of a trio of Doug Watson horses led by Tried and True in second.

The meeting at Jinma Lake’s 2000 metre right-handed turf course also featured the second edition of the Chengdu Dubai International Cup Jockeys’ Challenge which went the way of the international riders’ team.

The highlight race of the day was the Chengdu Dubai International Cup presented by Longines, which was won by relatively lightly raced Moonlight Dash who making his 27th start and winning for the fifth time.

Starting just in front of the grandstand, the race had eight starters running for its RMB 1.5 million prize money and Mullen paced his mount’s effort to perfection, winning by a decent two and a half length margin in a time of 2:25.17. Leading UAE trainer Doug Watson filled out the remainder of the top four with Tried and True in second under Pat Dobbs, a head to the good of Dehbashi under Sam Hitchcott, who in turn was just over two lengths ahead of Storm Belt and Tadhg O’Shea.

Speaking afterwards, Seemar said “We’ve always really liked Moonlight Dash and he’s run some really good races on the turf.
“The plan was to get freshened up and aim to (Chengdu). This is big prize money”.

Mullen added. “It’s a privilege to come back to Chengdu.

“I want to thank Chengdu, Meydan for putting on the event and Longines for sponsoring. It’s been a fantastic year and it was a fantastic day once again.”

The day’s co-feature, the RMB 750,000 Wenjiang-Meydan Classic sponsored by Azizi Developments, provided a sweep of the two big races for Mullen. The veteran rider guided Portamento for trainer Ali Rashid Al Rayhi to a well-earned victory in a healthy 1:37.12.

Unplaced last out in the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint behind subsequent Al Quoz Sprint winner Jungle Cat, Portamento stretched to the added 400 metres effortlessly and outfought the Watson-trained Dream Dubai and jockey Antonio Fresu en route to a three-quarter-length tally. Another Watson horse, Fast Enough, did not quite live up to its name and was three lengths back in third under Adam McLean.

The day’s racing also contained the second edition of the Chengdu Dubai International Cup Jockeys’ Challenge which comprised of two races, the Wenjiang Sprint and Guangsha Handicap.
The day’s opener, the 1400m RMB 500,000 Wenjiang Sprint, was the first leg of the Challenge and featured a battle to the line between Seemar-trained Ejbaar and Watson-trained Denzille Lane. It was the former under Dobbs who gained the advantage in the closing stages and surged to a three-quarter-length win. Chinese rider Xianfei He was aboard the runner-up, whilst there was over eight lengths back to Mutahaddith in third under O’Shea for Al Rayhi, while Musabbeh Al Mheir-tained Damar was another length adrift in fourth.

The second race of the day was the 2418 metre RMB 500,000 Meydan Handicap. In a display of stamina, Quartier Francais, a lightly raced four-year-old claimed his second career victory from seven starts. Ridden by O’Shea, the pair proved worthy winners by a length and a quarter margin over Jamesian and Fernando Jara, with another three-quarters of a length back to the Dobbs-ridden Hawker in third.

The day’s third race, the Guangsha Handicap, run over 1600 metres, completed the two-race Jockeys’ Challenge and was won in style by Tobaco.

With O’Shea riding for Watson, the success by a length and a quarter completed a sweep of the top-two positions when Centrifugal forced himself into the runner-up position under Wenxun Wang by three-quarters of a length. Initial was third under Liankai Ma, while Archaic was a good fourth under Jiafel Li.

The win for O’Shea also secured victory for the International riders over the Chinese contingent with a score of 30-18, with points distributed to the first four finishers in each race on a 12-6-4-2 basis.