Ridden with confidence by Pat Dobbs to a final time of 59.23 seconds, the 5-year-old French-bred gelded son of Oasis Dream won for the second time in 15 starts and first from three tries in the UAE. Previously in the care of Pia Brandt in his native France, the bay charge has shown marked improvement over the past month of training and displayed such this afternoon, flashing strong pace throughout. The performance franked the form of yardmate Golden Goal, who defeated him on Jan. 21 at Meydan by 13 lengths and is bound for the Burj Nahaar (G3) on Super Saturday. Plans for Al Tariq are up in the air in all the right ways following this excellent 

Watson: "His first start over here last year, he just got beat, so we've always liked him. It's great to have owners like Abdul, because earlier in the season, he had a hairline (fracture) in his elbow and he let us take our time with him and then he ran well the other night--but then I didn't expect him to have that kind of pace, but he did and he ran very well. He ran great and loved the hill. Last year, when we ran him here, he loved it then. You can't imagine how good it feels to win a nice race for Abdul. We've had good times, we've had horrible times and he's been with me. It's great to win this. Fanaar ran a great race and I'm really happy with him. He was just second-best today." 

Saltarin Dubai Nips Tailor's Row In Listed Jebel Ali Stakes

$135,000 Jebel Ali Stakes (Listed)
Race 6 (16:15)
1950m (dirt)
Winner: SALTARIN DUBAI
Owner: Ali Haddad
Trainer: Satish Seemar 
Jockey: Richard Mullen
Breeder: Haras Firmamento (ARG)
2nd: TAILOR'S ROW (Jose Santiago)
3rd: EQTIRAAN (Jim Crowley)
Time: 1:59.46
Margins: Nose, 3 1/2, Neck

In Brief: Another big win this weekend for trainer Satish Seemar's Zabeel Racing Stables came in the form of gritty past G1 winner Saltarin Dubai , who turned back the clock at the age of eight to win the Jebel Ali Stakes (Listed) at its namesake course. Over a testing 1950m and a stiff uphill finish, the son of E Dubai began his drive from midpack under Richard Mullen about 3 1/2 furlongs out and closed considerable ground on the leaders over the next quarter-mile. Meeting his final rival within the final furlong, Tailor's Row, it became apparent said foe was not relenting easily, so the pair battled to the finish, with the compact chestnut putting his nose down in the final stride. Finishing up in 1:59.46, the pair drew 3 1/2 lengths clear of a game Eqtiraan. The winner will go on to the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 on Super Saturday, March 6, at Meydan Racecourse. 

Satish Seemar: "He's a very good horse who always tries. It's wonderful to win for Ali, who is a nice, nice person and a great owner." 

Bhupat Seemar, assistant trainer: "He's a proper 10-furlong horse, really, and this race looked like a slightly easier race than the (Group 2 Al) Maktoum Challenge (Round 2) next week. We have other horses for next week, anyway, so we wanted to (spread them out). There is no other option after this, so we have to go to Round 3." 

Mullen: "He's a good horse who doesn't like kickback, hence why we usually make the running with him, but there was so much pace on today. Being in (post) six, my first initiative was to get out (into the clear) and give him a good run without going too wide. He's just a genuine, honest horse who lacks an extra gear, which is maybe why he hasn't reached a higher height, but he's a grinder. One thing he has is a heart of a lion. He had to be brave there and he was. I came to Tailor's Row and thought I wouldn't get past him, but he did. It's fantastic to win this for Ali."