By Chris Hoover
Paris: It was a historic day for Qatar yesterday as two of its superstars, General and Al Dahma, broke away from the pack in the Qatar Arabian World Cup and left the rest to fight for minor places at the Longchamp racecourse.
The Amer-Al Hanoof four-year old colt General is without doubt one of the most versatile Arabian horses seen in recent times. The colt went into the 450,000 Euros event, a Group I Purebred Arabian race, in prime fitness and proved his calibre with a gutsy win over stablemate Al Dahma to stamp his class. He is the star of the future.
It was a proud moment for the Qatari supporters as the first two finishers are bred in Qatar and are the property of HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani.
“We always knew that General was a very good horse and he has proved it today that he is a champion horse with this brilliant victory. He was running for the first time without blinkers and it turned out to be a good move as he relished the condition and won quite comfortably. General will be back for the next edition of the World Cup and we hope to complete a double,” trainer Alban de Mieulle told the Gulf Times.
Jockey Arnaud Bouleau who rode the winner, echoed the same opinion as the trainer. “General is an amazing horse and we did expect him to do well but the manner in which he won proves what a great horse he is and I am really glad that I had an opportunity to ride such a magnificent specimen.”
Favourite Sea The Stars won the four million euros Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in front of 48,700 cheering spectators. Trained in Ireland by John Oxx for Chinese owner Christopher Tsui, the three-year-old son of 1993 Arc winner Urban Sea, was simply brilliant when he came away from the field 200 metres from home to complete his sixth Group I victory in a row.
In the bargain, the Irish champion completed a unique treble of the English 2000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and the Arc.Ridden by Mick Kinane, Sea The Stars beat home Youmzain, ridden by Kieren Fallon, while seven-time Arc winning trainer Andre Fabre’s Cavalryman, under Frankie Dettori, was third.Trainer Oxx, who also saddled the 2000 Arc winner Sinndar, was almost speechless at the press briefing when he said. “It’s a great relief. A big relief really. We thought we had the best horse in the race and he deserved to win but it’s the Arc. It is the end of the year and it’s easy to get beaten.”
Beaten he was’nt and the Parisian crowd cheered him home as one of their own, just like one year ago they did with the unbeaten filly Zarkava.
“He has been through such a tough campaign having won six Group ones in a row and winning the Arc alongwith it is simply brilliant. He is great horse to keep on winning and to have won all of those races,” Oxx added.
Sea The Stars, who was applauded into the ring prior to the race, had come here as the favourite but early on he had several problems settling down as the Aidan O’Brien-trained pacemakers Set Sail and Grand Ducal set a searing gallop.Kinane, who has ridden some of the greatest horses to have graced the turf, was unequivocal about where the horse stood in his estimation. “He is phenomenal. An extraordinary talent who is a pleasure to ride. A horse that only comes along once in a lifetime. Though he was very keen to race upfront, I had to settle him in fifth or sixth position and I was really not concerned as I knew his potential. He can handle any pace and I was confident that he would respond when asked for an effort,” Kinane explained.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani represented HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani at the races and received the Qatar Arabian World from HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani, after General had won the prestigious event. |
