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Isam Sayed Salih, racing correspondent with intution
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He used to work for 22 years, as an Executive Secretary to the Assistant Secretary, Department of Social Services and Commercial Buildings(Khalifa Committee), in Abu Dhabi. It was only three years ago, Isam Sayed Salih, popularly known as Isam, began covering races in the UAE for Akbar Al Arab, an Abu Dhabi-based Arabic daily..
A Sudanese himself, Isam always followed horseracing and has also witnessed some of the Classics. He approached Akbar Al Arab on its initiation, and made an impression during the daily's dummy runs.Today, it is the only Arabic paper carrying the full race card at meetings in the UAE, and Isam's tipping has earned him a huge fan following.
"During the late '80s, I used to write some football articles for Al Jazira Club, and apart from that, it is my love for horseracing that got me this part-time job," says Isam.
"Earlier, only the Al Adiyat magazine published the full card, form guide and other racing stories, while the news dailies covered the races alone. Accepting my suggestion, the Akbar Al Arab management now devotes a whole page to pre-race news, including the card and tips for fans."
Gaining much popularity after twice winning the third place in the Tipsters competition, Isam has of late been asked to comment on races live on TV. "I get plenty of calls, almost non-stop, on race days, from people seeking my tips. I always give what I call the 'golden quartet' and one of the four usually wins the races. "After each race, I add notes to each horse and use this as reference for future races. This helps a lot though you just can't predict winners all the time," says Isam, who himself has won prize-money of over Dh50,000 from race meetings in the UAE.
Isam's following is evident when, during races for maidens (horses that have never won and in which unraced horses make their debut), the majority of Sudanese fans choose horses tipped by him in the paper for the 'Pick Six'.
"Last year, on Super Saturday, I had six winners out of seven races and that has been one of my best tipping endeavours yet," he says.
Though Isam has played first division basketball and second division volleyball and football, right throughout he always had an eye for horses, as is the case with most Sudanese. |
