Allam (Premium Tap) wins

[my miss storm cat]

UAE press release...

Premium Tap wins Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Cup

Keeping his record perfect in Saudi Arabia, Premium Tap on Friday won the first of three major objectives following his runner-up effort in the Dubai World Cup (Gr.1) as he conquered 17 rivals in the Crown Prince Cup at Al Janadriah racecourse.

Reunited with his old partner, American jockey Kent Desormeaux, Premium Tap once again defeated Brazilian-bred Impossible Ski in their third consecutive 1-2 finish.

Premium Tap races as Allam in Saudi Arabia, while Impossible Ski, who finished second in the Invasor Al Maktoum Challenge Round I (Gr.3) during the 2007 Dubai International Racing Carnival, is known as Radae.

Premium Tap’s margin in the 2,400-meter race was only a head, while Radae, who was ridden by John Velazquez, held second by a quarter-length from 2005 Argentine Horse of the Year Fire Wall, who won South America’s championship race, the Carlos Pellegrini (Gr.1), in 2004. Now racing as Sadeq Alweed, Fire Wall reigned as Saudi Arabia’s champion older horse and champion stayer in 2006.

Time for the race was 2:29.10 on the dirt track.

Trainer Julio Gardel, an Argentine native, took over conditioning Premium Tap from former trainer John Kimmel after the Dubai World Cup. Gardel said after Premium Tap won his first two races back on September 14 and November 2 at Al Janadriah that the main targets for the five-year-old son of Pleasant Tap would be the Crown Prince Cup, the King’s Cup and a return engagement in the Dubai World Cup.

Purchased by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and his sons after winning the 2006 Clark Handicap (Gr.1) at Churchill Downs in the United States, Premium Tap has done little wrong since then.

He won the 2007 King’s Cup, also known as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, in February in what was his first career try at the demanding distance of 2,400 meters. Then, he beat all but American Horse of the Year Invasor in the Dubai World Cup.

Premium Tap’s career record now stands at ten wins and six placings in 22 starts and his earnings have surpassed US$2.5 million. He has shown unusual versatility, winning from six furlongs to nearly 1 ½ miles.