Bhupat Seemar follows up Dubai World Cup double by landing UAE trainers' championship

Bhupat Seemar lifted the UAE trainers' championship on Thursday night as Fall Of Rome’s victory at Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club rounded off a sensational season for Zabeel Stables.

Seemar was still basking in the afterglow of last weekend’s Group 1 double – the $12million Dubai World Cup and the $2million Dubai Golden Shaheen – as he clinched his second trainers' title in three years since taking over from his uncle, Satish Seemar.

Tadhg O’Shea, who rode both Laurel River and Tuz at Meydan last Saturday, steered Fall Of Rome to victory in the first of the two races for the thoroughbreds to put Seemar one winner in front of Michael Costa, his closest challenger.

The trainers' championship race could have gone to the wire at Al Ain in tomorrow’s solitary race for the thoroughbreds had Costa’s Keffaf not been beaten into second place by Vagalame in the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship.

It was also a close call for Seemar and O’Shea as Fall Of Rome had his nose in front to pip Royston Ffrench and Benzema on the line 45 minutes earlier. Fall Of Rome’s success on the night has given Seemar an unassailable lead, meaning even if Costa pulls one back in the solitary race for the thoroughbreds at Al Ain on Friday, the Zabeel trainer takes the title as he has more second and third-placed finishes.

“That was a tight one in the end. Any one of the six or seven horses could have won and thankfully my fella came out on top,” O’Shea said.

“He'd been knocking on the door all year. He’s getting better with age. The horse is owned by a syndicate and that's what the whole racing game is about, bringing in the new generation.

“We're blessed to have a couple of good syndicates in the stables, and what gives us more joy than anything is even seeing