Local hero Ahmed credits RACE
6th Jul 2009
The 27-year-old World Cup riding sensation is a former camel racer who switched to riding horses after Sheikh Mohammed took an interest in him and sent him to Ireland for a four-month training programme at RACE in 2003. As part of his training, he was sent on work placement to John Oxx and he is remembered fondly by those he worked with on the Curragh as a likeable and determined individual whose progress since then has exceeded all expectations.
His exuberant celebrations following his victories at Nad Al Sheba underlined his status as the foremost Emirati jockey and he certainly made a dramatic arrival on the world stage with his confident riding displays aboard the Saudi-trained Gladiatorus and Eastern Anthem yielding Group 1 wins worth over €5 million.
He had worked in the UK for a year, forging a successful association with trainer Clive Brittain and he even enjoyed a debut Royal Ascot success last year aboard the Dandy Nicholls-trained Regal Parade in the Buckingham Palace handicap. However, one month on from this triumph, he was taken into custody by the UK immigration authorities and sent home due to visa irregularities. Now his star is on the rise again, we may eventually get to see him back in Ireland riding at the Curragh where his fairytale story began.
