By Chris Hoover
Mutasim Mahmood trained Dorki Lotois (Dormane-Nikita Lotoise), sprang a surprise by giving a beating to all his opponents in the richly endowed International Qatar Derby, a Group II race for Pure Arabian horses, the highlight of yesterday’s races at the Racing and Equestrian Club.
Dorki Lotois who had dropped form and appeared to have ended all hopes of a comeback, turned out in good condition and trainer Mahmood deserves praise for getting the four-year-old bay colt to perform to his optimum. Despite being injured during a fall in the third race, jockey Stephen Ladjadj preferred to ride Dorki Lotois with his bandaged wrist and gave a gutsy performance from the saddle, while he edged out Jaafer Asf in the shadow of the post.
After being outpaced in the early part of the race, Dorki Lotois under some hard riding from Ladjadj picked up momentum on the wide outside and nosed out the front running Jaafer Asf in the final stride to win in an excellent timing of two minutes 14.24 seconds. Al Fatih, who carried public expectations, finished fourth behind Nil Blanc.
Though there were 14 runners in the fray, some of them were accomplished performers and as such, the field looked very competitive notwithstanding the fact Dorki Lotois was the dark horse in the field.
Georgina Ward schooled Jaafer Asf kicked on gamely after turning for home while Al Fatih felt the pressure and dropped back alarmingly. The others could not pick up speed instantly and Jaafer Asf seemed to be well on course to pulling off victory. But once Dorki Lotois was switched to the outside, the big-hearted son of Dormane came with telling strides and got ahead by ¾ length. Jockey Adrie de Vries did his best to keep the initiative on Jaafer Asf but the power packed ride by Ladjadj ensured a well deserved win for Dorki Lotois.
Trainer Mutasim Mahmood, who recorded a rare classic victory said: “I don’t have words to describe my feelings. This has been the happiest moment for me. With this event in mind, I have been preparing Dorki Lotois and he responded brilliantly today and jockey Ladjadj also deserves full credit. It was such a thrilling race that I had closed my eyes during the last furlong,” trainer Mahmood added” Georgina Ward was equally thrilled with an exciting finish that the race provided. “I don’t mind losing a race like this. It was brilliant. My horse did not give up till the end and we are happy with his performance today.”
Georgina Ward continued to enjoy a good run, with a brace of winners through Assil Asf and Magadir Asf.
The former won the four-year old local bred Pure Arabian race without much ado, while Magadir Asf kept to his promise with an authoritative win in the local bred Thoroughbred Qatar Derby, for three-year-old horses.
“I am totally ecstatic,” said Ward after her trainees Magadir Asf and Assil Asf emerged victorious. “She (Magadir Asf) is going to be a top-class horse. We did not expect it to be so comfortable. She won it very easily,” Ward explained.
Alban de Mieulle saddled Becher’s decisive victory in the 2,000 metres Qatar Derby for Throughbred’s served to emphasize the fact that this three year old colt out of Vettori and Hidden Meaning is one of the best juveniles seen in action here. Though Becher did not beat a quality field he has the pedigree and the class to be a force to reckon with in the forthcoming classics.
Once he matures and gets stronger, there would be no stopping this talented colt from Umm Qarn Farms.
Results
1st race: Casemate (A de Vries) 1, Noplacelikehome 2, Atlantic Air 3, Brave Fight 4. Won by: 1 1/2, 1/2, 2 1/2. Time: 1:23.54. Trained by: Z Moghsen. Owned by: Hussain Ali Bukanan.
2nd race: Art Advisor (Stephen Ladjadj) 1, Major Willy 2, Captain Esteem 3, Blog 4. Won by: 1 3/4, 3 1/2, 1 3/4. Time: 1:40.70. Trained by: Yousuf Bentaher. Owned by: Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Ahmed Al Thani.
3rd race: Nomas (Adrie de Vries) 1, Battal 2, Dancing Queen 3, Mnif 4. Won by: 5, 8, 2 1/2. Time: 2:10.42. Trained by: H Al Ramzani. Owned by: Mohammed Nasser Al Ramzani.
4th race: Magadir Asf (Adrie de Vries) 1, Wall Street 2, Quazi Al Mels 3, Al Ka’ed 4. Won by: 5, 7, 1. Time: 1:42.25. Trained by: Georgina Ward. Owned by: Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani.
5th race: Becher (David Bouland) 1, Cool Box 2, Altar 3, Navio 4. Won by: 1/2, Nk, 1 1/4. Time: 2:03.74. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Sheikh Tamim bin Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani.
6th race: Assil Asf (A de Vries) 1, Arkan Al Naif 2, Gamarain Asf 3, Al Aarandas 4. Won by: 3 1/2, 5, 14. Time: 2:15.86. Trained by: Georgina Ward. Owned by: Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani.
7th race: Dorki Lotois (Stephen Ladjadj) 1, Jaafer Asf 2, Nil Blanc 3, Al Fatih 4. Won by: 3/4, 1 1/2, 2 1/2. Time: 2:14.24. Trained by: Mutasim Mahmood. Owned by: Al Mohanna Stable.
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