Thomas Fourcy could not have asked for a better gift for his 42nd birthday.

On Sunday, the two riders of the Frenchman – Lady Princess and Hoggar De L’Ardes – arrived first and second in Group 1 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown at the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club.

“They were the two top rated horses on the field and they also won Group 1 prizes so we had high hopes,” said Fourcy.

“However, I couldn’t have asked for a better result than saddling the top two at home. It’s been a wonderful night.”

Jim Crowley aboard Lady Princess came with a strong late race to stick his stable mate under three lengths Maxime Guyon.

Hayyan of Frederic Sanchez in the silks of Yas Horse Racing Management of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed took third place, meaning that the riders trained in France took the first three places.

“Fantastic,” Crowley said. “She is a princess by name and a princess by nature. She did the trick well. We went at a good pace.

“My only concern was to have a little space but I always had so many horses and she held up well. She had a good run and once we got through the last corner we had a flawless run.

Crowley scored a brace half an hour later as he led Erwan Charpy’s Moqtarreb to victory in the Listed Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup for Thoroughbreds.

Hameem extended his unbeaten run to seven with an impressive Group 3 victory in the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup for Thoroughbreds Arabs.

His jockey Pat Cosgrave had to bring him around a wall of horses and Valiant Boy’s four-year-old responded by heading forward down the home stretch to win the pair of Salem Al Ketbi RB Money To Burn and Nadhra by two lengths and a neck respectively.

“We were a little suspicious of his physical form for this race,” said his teacher Abdallah Al Hammadi.

“He had a little setback and trained late. Tonight he showed his class as a very good horse. He had to overcome the traffic and when Pat rounded him he showed superb cruising speed to comfortably win at the end.

Ibrahim Al Hadhrami and Antonio Fresu, the coach-jockey partnership, won two awards on the evening.

They won the Sheikha Fatima bin Mubarak Cup for fillies and mares with Ihtesham, and the Purebred Arabian Cup with Bahar Muscat, to complete the double.

It could have been three out of three for Al Hadhrami if Jabalini had not stumbled upon a photo against Mohamed Daggash’s Dergham Athbah under Tadhg O’Shea in the first game.

“We thought they all had chances and having two wins and a second place in the first three races was a wonderful result for us that night,” said Al Hadhrami.

“Jabalini is a two-time winner on track and travel, and Ihtesham has won four times on track, including twice in the distance tonight.

“Bahar Muscat won his second race in two starts and he looks like a bright young prospect in the stables. He’s only three years old and he impressed us back home in Muscat on his first run, and we decided to take him to Abu Dhabi.

Results

5 p.m. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Racing Festival – Handicap (PA) 100,000 Dh (Turf) 2,200 m

Winner Dergham Athbah, Tadhg O’Shea (trainer), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)

5:30 p.m. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup – Conditions for fillies and mares (PA) 150,000 Dh (T) 1,600 m

Winner Ihtesham, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

6 p.m. Pure Race Arab Cup – Conditions (PA) 150,000 Dh (T) 1,600 m

Winner Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

6.30 p.m. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup – Group 3 (PA) 500,000 Dh (T) 1,600m

Winner Hameem, Patrick Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7:15 p.m. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Jewel Crown – Group 1 (PA) Dh5,000,000 (T) 2,200m

Winner Lady Princess, Jim Crowley, Thomas Faucy

7:45 p.m. President Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup РCot̩ (VG) 380,000 Dh (T) 1,600m

Winner Moqtarreb, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy

8:15 p.m. Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) 100,000 Dh (T) 1,400m

Winner Al Suhooj, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi

Updated: December 5, 2021, 7:07 PM