The Covex Kid (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and Mobaadel (Speightstown) gave jockey Neil Callan, trainer Hesham Al Haddad and Al Mohemediya Racing a double as the Bahrain Turf Series continued on Friday.
The Al Adiyat Cup, an 1800-metre conditions race and local Bahraini Group 2, went to The Covex Kid, who was winning his second race of the Bahrain Turf Series after taking the Al Dana Cup last out. It was also a trifecta for Al Haddad, who also trains the runner-up Tawaareq (Ire) (Shamardal) and the third home, Zagato (GB) (Frankel {GB}).
“I've ridden a lot of nice horses in England but with regards to horses to ride he's unreal,” said Callan of The Covex Kid, who will now be aimed at the King's Cup in March. “He's super chilled and you can put him where you want and you can do whatever you want with him. The pace was slow which surprised me so I just took the box seat. I probably sent him on a bit earlier than I wanted to. I knew the horse in front of me wasn't going to go any further and I didn't want to break his stride. It just meant I had to commit a little bit earlier but I knew he was going to gallop through the line. He's been winning over 2000m and over 2400m. He's just a nice horse and a very easy horse to ride.”
Held over 1000 metres, the Al Wasmiya Cup is a local Bahrain Group 3, and Mobaadel ran out a three-length winner over George Baker's Get It (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}).
Added Callan, “He came back from Dubai, had sore shins and just wasn't right in his coat. His runs had been okay but not to his level so it kind of gave me optimism that he was still running well but not 100%. Coming back off set weights against horses that he should be giving plenty of weight to and having experienced his last piece of work, changed my mind. I got off him and said 'I'm riding him' and he duly obliged. I'm glad he's back and we're hoping he can improve to the level he was at last season and he should be able to hold his own.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
