26 March 2016, Dubai, UAE ~ AF MATHMOON won the 2016 Kahayla Classic Gr.1 PA at Meydan on Saturday, 26 March.
The $1,000,000 Purebred Arabian Group 1 PA race attracted a very strong field of champion runners coming from the UAE, Qatar, France and Italy.
AF MATHMOON becomes the 6th individual winner of this prestigious race for HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It was his first attempt at a distance of 2000 m, having previously won over 1400m and 1600 m. The 5yo colt, has won 6 of his 7 starts and finished 2nd in his only defeat. His last win was the Gr.1 PA Liwa Oasis at Abu Dhabi, over 1400m, less than 3 weeks ago.
It is the first victory in this race for a UAE bred horse; AF MATHMOON was bred by .
This is the first Kahayla Classic victory for trainer Musabah Al Muhairi and jockey Dane O’Neill, and the jockey’s 2nd win in the race after steering Manark to victory in 2015.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum had previously won the Kahayla Classic 7 times with: NIVOUR DE CARDONNE (2000), BOPP MOON (2003), KAOLINO (2004), MADJANI (2005, 2006, 2007), and MANARK (2015).
The two other runners carrying the famous blue and white colors were Handassa and Versac PY that finished 4th and 5th respectively.