The fifth and final day of Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC)-sponsored Qatar Goodwood Festival came with a massive Qatari victory when His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani’s Ebraz won the Qatar International Stakes (Group 1 PA) for four-year-old and older Arabians, for the second year on the spin.
Ebraz managed to keep his title in the opener of the eight-race card and give a second success in the prestigious event for his trainer Julian Smart and his jockey Maxime Guyon in much the same way the triple did last year.
The mile contest is a Group 1 contest for purebred Arabian horses and forms the first leg of the Doha Triple Crown. Following his victory in 2019, Ebraz went on to become the first winner of the Doha Triple Crown, with victories in the Qatar Arabian World Cup at Longchamp and His Highness The Amir Sword in Doha.
With this repeated victory under his belt, Ebraz, the highest rated Arabian in the world, sends a strong message that he is targeting the Doha Triple Crown once more.
The grey son of Amer has shown his intent on landing the title yet again, an accomplishment, if realised, may not be repeated by any other horse.
What makes the Doha Triple Crown especially challenging is that the horse has to not only travel well to three countries, but also stamp their supremacy over three different distances. The Qatar Arabian World Cup is run over a mile-and-a-quarter (2,000m) and His Highness The Amir Sword is a mile-and-a-half (2,400m).
Deryan, trained by Didier Guillemin, was the runner-up under by Ioritz Mendizabal.
His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani’s Tayf, the runner-up last year and the winner of the 2017 edition, finished third with Olivier Peslier in the saddle. He is trained by Thomas Fourcy.
Trainer Julian Smart said: “Ebraz is very special. He is one of the best - he already proved that in Doha, winning the Triple Crown, winning the Amir Sword three times. This is the fourth time he has come to Goodwood - he has been unlucky on two occasions and has managed to win it the last two years. Now we go to France for the Qatar Arabian Gold Cup and who knows, maybe the unthinkable. We already thought the Arabian Triple Crown couldn’t be done and he has done it; maybe he can do another one, you never know. We will obviously target the Arc meeting for the Qatar Arabian Gold Cup and then we’ll see, do we go back to Doha or do we leave him in France to go to stud? That will all be decided if he is sound in October.”
Second Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes for Enbihaar
Enbihaar, trained by John Gosden, justified her favouritism to win the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes (Group 2) for the second year in succession. Partnered by Jim Crowley, the five-year-old Redoute’s Choice mare overhauled leader Snow, trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, entering the final quarter mile. Enbihaar comfortably saw off the challenge of Cabaletta, trained by Roger Varian and ridden by David Egan, to score by three-and-a-half lengths.
Thady Gosden, assistant trainer to his father John, said: “Enbihaar has run really well and is such a lovely horse. It was only a three-runner field, but she has that lovely long stride and she picked up well in the straight.”
Society Lion wins Qatar Handicap for Sir Michael Stoute
Sir Michael Stoute picked up his first winner of the Qatar Goodwood Festival when Society Lion and Ryan Moore landed the Qatar Handicap, a Class 2 over 7f for three-year-olds rated 0-105. He managed to win the race by 1 and a quarter lengths in front of Mister Snowdon, trained by Richard Hughes, who was ridden by Shane Kelly. The Roger Varian-trained King Ragnar was third under David Egan
Comfortable victory for Treacherous in Stewards’ Sprint Handicap
Treacherous, trained by Ed de Giles, was the comfortable winner of the six-furlong Unibet Stewards’ Sprint Handicap, the contest for horses eliminated from the Unibet Stewards’ Cup. Under Harry Bentley, the six-year-old delivered his challenge entering the final furlong and was never in any danger thereafter, coming home a length and three quarters to the good over Dream Today, who is trained by Jamie Osborne and was ridden by Saffie Osborne.
The Lamplighter, trained by George Baker, was third under Shane Kelly.
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