Mullen and O'Shea start season with doubles
Report: Dubai, Friday
Jebel Ali
JOCKEYS Richard Mullen and Tadhg O'Shea both registered doubles as racing returned to the UAE at
Both Mullen's winners were saddled by his main employer, Satish Seemar and included Escape Route who won the 5f conditions race.
Richard Mullen: double at Jebel Ali
PICTURE: David DewA winner on the same course over 6f last season, five-year-old Escape Route actually won over 1m2f at Great Leighs in April 2008 when trained by John Gosden.
Mullen explained: "He has always been highly regarded this horse and arrived to run at the Carnival in2008 for Mr Gosden before going back to the UK and then joining Satish. He has thrived with the sun on his back and can hopefully improve from this."
Jockey and trainer were completing a rapid double after Ibn Al Nafis, who cost John Ferguson $1.9million as a yearling at Keeneland but never raced for Godolphin, had made a winning racecourse debut in the preceding 6f maiden.
Mullen's mount was always travelling well but was hampered over a furlong outbefore going through a narrow gap to deny the Doug Watson-trained Bur Dubai, under O'Shea, by the narrowest of margins.
Mullen was clearly impressed: "He was very green and we were stopped at a crucial stage. It seemed a decent little race so hopefully there is more to come."
He was denying O'Shea and Watson a quick double as they had combined to win the opening race of the season, a 6f handicap, with Alsadeek.
Tadgh O'Shea: won 7f handicap
PICTURE: Mark CranhamO'Shea went on to win the 7f handicap on Estihdaaf, trained by Ali Rashid Al Raihe and carrying the colours of the jockey's main employer, Sheikh Hamdan.
O'Shea said: "The new job has gone great this year and it is nice to get a quick winner on the board for the boss here, as well as one for Doug whom I will be riding a lot for."
Wayne Smith secured the concluding 1m2f handicap on Seabow, trained by his main employer Musabah Al Muhairi, while trainer Abdulla Bin Huzaim supplied jockey Carlos Sanchez with a first UAE win in a 1m handicap.
They combined with Seeking An Alibi on an afternoon of slow times on what appeared deep conditions with stamina proving a valuable commodity.
