All about Al-Arabiya newbies

Michael Clements may feel like he is walking in Saeed bin Suroor’s or Charlie Appleby’s shoes on the way to the parade ring on Sunday.

Those two big names train exclusively for the mighty Godolphin outfit, be it in England or Dubai. They are usually flanked by Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum, Godolphin’s supremo, while discussing tactics with jockeys William Buick or Mickael Barzalona.

Similarly, Clements will get to see only one owner, Mansoor Gandhi on Sunday – and on three separate occasions.

The only difference is the 2020 Singapore champion trains for a wide variety of owners at Kranji. But, oddly on Sunday, he saddles only three horses (from his yard of 51 horses) – and all are debutants for Gandhi’s Al-Arabiya Stable.

Trivia buffs will probably add in a few other common themes.

Al-Arabiya channels a lot of Godolphin, albeit on a much smaller scale. It is also Kranji’s Blue Army (save for the white sleeves and epaulettes) and, just like Godolphin, gives Arabic names to the bulk of its horses.

Its Sunday threesome are Makin (strong), Ghalib (victorious) and Asif (forgiveness). Unlike its rising but recuperating star, Ejaz, who was bought as a yearling, these three came as tried horses through the Inglis Digital sale in February.

“It’s just by chance that all three Al-Arabiya’s will have their first runs on the same day, and it’s also by chance we didn’t have any other runner,” said Michael White, Clements’ assistant trainer.

“The programme lent itself that way. It’s worked out perfectly.”

The leading yard may be light on numbers this week, but, it will still try and hang on to its slender one-win lead over Jason Ong (33 v 32 winners) on the trainers’ log.

White pointed to Asif in the last race, the $50,000 Class 4 race (1,100m), as having a slight edge. Manoel Nunes rides all three.

“Asif is the most seasoned of the three,” said the Australian filling in for Clements, currently abroad, but who will be back for the races.

“He’s well handicapped. He was also rated higher in Australia.”

Known as Sacrimony when prepared by premier Sydney trainer Chris Waller, the Per Incanto five-year-old boasts two wins on heavy going at Canterbury (1,250m) and Hawkesbury (1,100m).

White predicts a Kranji career over sprints for Asif, but can see the younger four-year-old pair rising in distance in the future.

Both Makin (formerly Moscow Night) and Ghalib (formerly Eponymous) are one-time Sydney winners from a handful of starts.

“Asif is a pure sprinting type while the other two younger ones are more 1,400m to a mile types. They are lightly raced and are like a blank canvas,” he said.

“They are more progressive and will furnish into nice four-year-olds. They have the most upsides while Asif is more ready-made. But we hope to see all of them step up to the next level as they go along.

“Anyway, we didn’t buy them to be Class 4 horses. They’re all Class 3 types and I think they’ll all run well – and pay their way.”

Since its Kranji launch in 2018, the Al-Arabiya Stable – which has a lot more horses in Malaysia – has raced handy sorts like Safeer, Saraab and Biraz.

It cut back on its Singapore arm during Covid-19 but came back in a big way in 2023, with Ejaz the standout. Unfortunately, the four-from-five winner was out of the 3YO series through injury – and is nowhere near a return.

“Ejaz had a serious knee injury, he’s still under rehab. There’s no real timeframe when he’ll be back, maybe in six months,” said White.

“As he has a lot of ability, we’ll give him all the time he needs.”

Al-Arabiya’s Kranji renaissance was meant to gain traction with Sunday’s three newbies, but the end of Singapore racing in 2024 has now stopped it in its tracks.

“Mansoor wanted new stock and we went online. We’ve tried that with horses like Pacific Warrior for the Pacific Stable,” said White.

“We identified those three. They fitted the mould and are nice buys (at $100,000 each) for Mansoor.”