Al Saham Gives Godolphin A Double

Al Saham, trained by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Adrie de Vries, held on by a nose to win the gulfnews.com Handicap over 12 furlongs on turf at Meydan, UAE on Thursday, January 22.

The six-year-old was held up in fifth last before moving up to mid-division turning for home.

He made steady progress on the outside in the straight to come through and challenge in the final furlong and take a narrow lead with 110 yards to race.

Al Saham just resisted the late challenge of Fire Fighting and his time was 2m 33.33s.

Saeed bin Suroor, who also saddled the fifth Excellent Result (James Doyle) and sixth Saxo Jack (William Buick), commented: "I am very happy to have a winner and Al Saham always runs well when fresh."

Adrie de Vries added: "He travelled good and I still had a good feeling when I pulled him out in the straight.

"Of course, he needed to work a little bit when he hit the front. It was nice result, especially for this team.

"This was only my second ride for Godolphin."

The jockey has a 100 per cent record for Godolphin, having previously partnered Campanologist to win the Group One Rheinland-Pokal at Cologne in 2010.