A PARISIAN Uber driver came to the rescue as Aussie mare Asfoora won a dramatic Prix de l’Abbaye.
Her horse passport was mistakenly left behind in her stables in Chantilly and she would not have been allowed to run without it.
Australian trainer Henry Dwyer had Uber driver Mamadou to thank for getting to Longchamp in the nick of time… just minutes before Asfoora won the Abbaye
The cut-off point was 2.40 and the well-backed favourite was on the verge of being dramatically scratched.
But the driver managed to get to the yard and back to the racecourse by 2.33.
Trainer Henry Dwyer said: “I’ve driven to and from Chantilly from Longchamp a few times and never done it in under an hour, but Mamadou did it in 52 minutes.
“He will definitely be invited to the party.
“We were within a few minutes of not being able to run, it was a bit chaotic but thankfully all’s well that ends well.”
The seven-year-old mare has become a staple of the European sprinting scene over the last couple of years, winning at Royal Ascot last summer and the Nunthorpe at York in August.
But this was arguably her best performance yet and she became the first Australian horse to win on French soil, bagging a cheque for £165,000 in the process thanks to the ride from Oisin Murphy.
Dwyer added: “There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of travel involved, but now here we are winning a Group 1 on Arc day.
“It’s pretty surreal.”
Dwyer posted a screenshot of the Uber ride to his X account with a love heart and the message: “That is all.”
He said he had the driver on a £200 retainer – paid in cash – to get the passport to Longchamp in time.
Punters absolutely loved the story – and said Dwyer had to name a runner in honour of Mamadou in future.
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