Hadaaya and Clifford Lee win the Equine MediRecord Maiden Stakes at Lingfield Park
©Debbie Burt – Equine Creative Media
Clear debut win could set colt up for the Derby at Doncaster in August
Saturday 11 May 2024 – It was a one-two-three for Newmarket trainer Phil Collington with all three of his debutant runners filling the frame in the Equine MediRecord Maiden Stakes at Lingfield Park. Fittingly on Derby Trials day at the course, Collington’s four-year-old colt Hadaaya, could well be a live UK Derby candidate following his 12 length success. After being very green in the early stages, the three-year-old Mobaasher ran on well, whilst his other runner, Hattie Sparks, who was bred by his wife Sheila, was a further length and a quarter behind in third.
Hadaaya, ridden by Clifford Lee, looks to have a bright future, as he is a half-brother to Barakka, already a Group1PA winner in the UAE. Hadaaya is owned by Athbah Stud and was bought from the Shadwell Stud dispersal, as was the third Mobaasher now owned by Bader Salama Mubarak Al Rashdi.
Watch Hadaaya and Clifford Lee win the Equine MediRecord Maiden Stakes at Lingfield Park
Quotes:
Phil Collington, trainer 1st, 2nd, 3rd : “Not exactly how I thought it would go, I thought Hadaaya and Mobaasher would be a lot closer at the finish. Hadaaya was the ultimate professional, the way he travelled through the race, other than jumping the road crossing, it was reminiscent of his sire No Risk Al Maury.
“Mobaasher, on the other hand raced very greenly, but it was notable the way he finished his race off. Hattie Sparks ran on and ran a nice race.
“The wide margin that Hadaaya has won by was a little bit of a surprise, but going forward I think he’ll be a nice horse. We’d love to step him up in trip now and we’ve always thought a mile a quarter would be his optimum, it would be nice to think that he could be a Derby horse. We don’t know if he’s got Barakka’s ability, but he certainly behaves like him.
“My daughter Sophie owns the dam Laqataat and she’s had an AF Albahar colt this year, so though he’s a half-brother to Barakka, their sires are full brothers. Quite exciting really, as he’s a stunning foal as well.”
Clifford Lee and Hadaaya winners of the Equine MediRecord Maiden Stakes at Lingfield Park
© Debbie Burt – Equine Creative Media
Finlay Dargan, EMR Chief Operations Officer, “That was an impressive win on debut by Hadaaya, so congratulations to Phil Collington and all the connections.
“We’re really delighted to be supporters of Arabian racing as ARO was one of the first regulatory groups to mandate us to have all their horses to use our system to keep track of the horse’s health, and to improve the overall health of the herd in the UK. So we’re delighted that they put their trust in us all those years ago and we’re delighted to be here today.”
Genny Haynes, ARO Chief Executive Officer, “We were thrilled to learn that our Associate sponsor Equine MediRecord would not only be sponsoring another race with us this year, but bringing with them a new sponsor in Cassadol. We congratulate Athbah Racing, Phil and his team as well as Mitchell Hunt who won the Best Turned Out award sponsored by Cassadol for Pharitz Lahia.
“We now look forward to our next race at Bath on May 24th.”
Finlay Dargan with Phil Collington and Clifford Lee
©Debbie Burt – Equine Creative Media
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