AF MAHER WINS THE $1 MILLION KAHAYLA CLASSIC
No one could keep up with AF Maher in the big races at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai in late February and March.
In consecutive starts, AF Maher (AF Al Buraq x AF Raad by Madour) won the most prestigious races of his career — the $95,000 Round Three of the Maktoum Challenge on February 28 and the $1 million Kahayla Classic on March 30. In both races, AF Maher took the lead shortly after the start and maintained his advantage throughout. He won the Group 3 Maktoum Challenge by 3½ lengths, but held on to win the Group 1 Kahayla Classic by only a nose in a thrilling finish in Meydan’s richest race for Arabians. Those wins pushed AF Maher to the top of the rankings in Dubai at the end of the 2018-2019 season.
“You need courage and that is what he has,” said winning jockey Tadhg O’Shea, the all-time leading rider in the United Arab Emirates.
