On a day of close finishes, even the feature produced a thriller as Meshaal bin Ali al-Attiyah’s Aaley Al Magam won the Al Zubara Trophy on the first day of the His Highness The Amir Sword Festival at Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s Al Rayyan Park on Thursday.

The nine-year-old may have been the oldest contender in the USD 150,000 affair for older local Arabians, but the Jassim Ghazali charge was up for the task against his younger challengers in the 2,000m contest.

With JP Guillambert in the saddle, Aaley Al Magam, who often held pacemaking duties during Qatar’s flagship racing weekend in the past before moving yards, took the lead on the home straight before Injaaz Stud’s Lekhraib, saddled by Ghazali’s son, Mohamed, converted it into a duel in the final furlong. The grey son of the prolific sire Amer held his advantage edging out Julien Auge and Lekhraib by a head for the win.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani’s Khatafaynee, trained by Julian Smart and ridden by Maxime Guyon, rounded out the top three ahead of Umm Qarn’s Sealine.

“In the last race, we won with an older horse. When you run with special horses from Al Shahania, Umm Qarn, Injaaz, and especially among older horses, I am lucky for this win,” the senior Ghazali told Gulf Times.

“Towards the end, I found my horse in a good place and I had hopes that he would do something nice. There was Sealine in the race, also Khatafaynee, so I wasn't expecting a win. My son too had a good horse, Lekhraib, and when we ended up fighting for the win, I wasn't sure whether I should be happy or not. But first and second, me and my son, I am happy.”


Sami Jassim al-Boenain (third from right) with the winners of the Class 3 Thoroughbred Handicap after Fuwayrit won the mile-long race

The feature capped a double for Ghazali who had earlier saddled Burano Boy in a Thoroughbred Handicap victory, also over a mile-and-a-quarter. Soufiane Saadi was astride Mansoor Ebrahim al-Mahmoud’s gelding in the win that was decided by the stewards post an objection. Tomas Lukasek-ridden Massam was adjudged to have finished second.

Umm Qarn and trainer Alban de Mieulle locked the top two spots in the opening race of the Festival with Ronan Thomas-ridden Antar bagging the Purebred Arabian Plate event for four-year-olds, one-and-a-half lengths ahead of Muqla, helmed by Saadi. Interestingly, Antar’s dam Al Dahma had a double in the HH The Amir Sword back in 2009 and 2010, while Muqla’s sire Tabarak was the last winner for De Mieulle in the Festival’s Arabian feature in 2013.

De Mieulle had a second winner later Thursday when a determined run on the straight by Noora Racing Limited’s Fuwayrit won them the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 75-95. Midfield for the bulk of the miler, Saadi had the four-year-old colt move forward on the outside before holding a slender advantage on the rest of the field, who ran out of real estate as Fuwayrit won by a quarter-of-a-length.

After two of his wards – Noble Masterpiece and On The Line – missed out behind Fuwayrit, Mohamed Riyaz celebrated the victory of Abu Fass Stud’s Hydroxide half-an-hour later in the penultimate race of the day, a six-furlong sprint for Thoroughbreds.

Alberto Sanna guided the seven-year-old to a close win, by almost a length, as they edged out Marco Casamento-ridden Munira Eyes for a trip to the winner’s enclosure.

Handler Mohamed Hussain too celebrated a double when he saddled winners in two consecutive races in the card. First up was Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s Flirty Rascal in the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate. The six-furlong sprint saw Casamento guide the three-year-old filly to a short head win, her first in 10 career starts.

Half-an-hour later, Hussain was celebrating the victory of Dhafi Rashid al-Marri’s Dukhan, who landed the Local Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 85 and below, in yet another close finish. Helmed by Carlos Henrique for the first time, the five-year-old had stepped up to a 2,000m affair for the first time and he eventually managed it beautifully, winning by half-a-length.

Osama Omer al-Dafea’s Tahar put up an impressive run on the straight on the outside to land the handicap for Arabians. Jockey Carlo Fiocchi timed his go-ahead well as the Qatar-bred six-year-old edged out a wide field at the post by a neck in a blanket finish.

The second day of the Festival will feature eight races on Friday, concluding with the USD 100,000 Gulf Cup for Arabians bred in the GCC and the USD 200,000 invitation-only Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup (QA Group 2) for older contenders.

 

RESULTS

Race 1: PUREBRED ARABIAN PLATE (4-year-olds) (Distance: 1,600m)

1. Antar (Ronan Thomas), 2 Muqla (Soufiane Saadi), 3. Ael Star (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 4. Mubadir (Julian Auge). Won by: 1 ½, 1, Shd. Time: 1:45.55. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.

Race 2: THOROUGHBRED MAIDEN PLATE (Class 6) (Distance: 1,200m)

1. Flirty Rascal (Marco Casamento), 2. Swagger (Maxime Guyon), 3. Release The Beast (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 4. Cruella Dovil (JP Guillambert). Won by: Shd, ½, ¾. Time: 1:11.27. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Mohamed Hussain.

Race 3: LOCAL THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (85 & below) (Distance: 2,000m)

1. Dukhan (Carlos Henrique), 2. Al Hindi (Maxime Guyon), 3. Sky Blue (Soufiane Saadi), 4. Look At Me (Meteb Ali al-Marri). Won by: ½, Nk, ¾. Time: 2:06.98. Owner: Dhafi Rashid al-Marri. Trainer: Mohamed Hussain.

Race 4: PUREBRED ARABIAN HANDICAP (85 & below) (Distance: 1,600m)

1. Tahar (Carlo Fiocchi), 2. Umm Bab (Ronan Thomas), 3. Al Neksh (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 4. Al Addaaj (Meteb Ali al-Marri). Won by Nk, Shd, Hd. Time: 1:45.55. Owner: Osama Omer al-Dafea. Trainer: Osama Omer al-Dafea.

Race 5: THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 4) (85 & below) (Distance: 2,000m)

1. Burano Boy (Soufiane Saadi), 2. Massam (Tomas Lukasek), 3. Wemyss Ware (Julien Auge), 4. Ethic (Ronan Thomas). Won by: Hd, 1 ½, 2. Time: 2:03.06. Owner: Mansoor Ebrahim al-Mahmoud. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.

Race 6: THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 3) (75-95) (Distance: 1,600m)

1. Fuwayrit (Soufiane Saadi), 2. Noble Masterpiece (Julien Auge), 3. On The Line (Maxime Guyon), 4. Receding Waves (Marco Casamento). Won by: ¼, Nk, Hd. Time: 1:35.78. Owner: Noora Racing Limited. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.

Race 7: THOROUGHBREDS (Class 2) (Distance: 1,200m)

1. Hydroxide (Alberto Sanna), 2. Munira Eyes (Marco Casamento), 3. Monsieur Noir (Carlo Fiocchi), 4. Return To Senders (Soufiane Saadi). Won by: ¾, ½, 1. Time: 1:11.50. Owner: Abu Fass Stud. Trainer: Mohamed Riyaz.

Race 8: AL ZUBARA TROPHY (LOCAL PA 4 Year Olds & Older)

1. Aaley Al Magam (JP Guillambert), 2. Lekhraib (Julien Auge), 3. Khatafaynee (Maxime Guyon), 4. Sealine (Ronan Thomas). Won by: Hd, 1 ¾, Nk. Time: 2:16.02. Owner: Meshaal bin Ali al-Attiyah. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.

 
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