ASFOORA MAKES HISTORY IN UBER-DRAMATIC STYLE

Australian mare owes Prix de ’Abbaye win to equally speedy taxi driver-cum-courier

- Michael Lee

A talented mare, an unwavering fair-dinkum Australian trainer and a solid dose of can-do spirit were the right ingredients behind Asfoora’s history-making win in the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp (1,000m) at ParisLongchamp on Oct 5.

But all that perfect buildup to a fairytale ending could have come to nought had it not been for a most unlikely hero to save the day ~ an Uber driver unleashing his inner Charles Leclerc in the streets of Paris.

Due to a passport mix-up in Chantilly where Asfoora had been stabled during her maiden French campaign, the dual UK Group 1 winner reached ParisLongchamp without the mandatory document.

The French stewards were intransigent — no passport, no run.

With the €350,000 (S$529,000) race going to post in a few hours’ time, what ensued was a frantic scramble to dispatch Asfoora’s ID card and passport, which had been inadvertently left at Chantilly.

In his rush, trainer Henry Dwyer had mistakenly packed the documents of a new horse he had bought at the Arqana sale the day before.

Enter Uber driver Mamadou for the near-impossible mission, or days of minutious work and preparation would go down the drain for a lapse which Dwyer did put his hand up to.

“It was the silly Australian trainer who didn’t know which passport to bring,” said Dwyer.