By Chris Hoover/Doha
Jassim al-Ghazali trained Granary continued her winning ways with yet another brilliant performance while annexing the Zekreet Cup, which featured the day’s races at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. The Ahmed Fawaz Ahmed al-Attiyah owned five-year-old bay mare has been unbeaten in her eight starts.
Though not getting a clear passage when the race took a serious turn, Granary had enough class in her to pounce on Al Basmah in the shadow of the winning post to win by a neck. After Flying Time and La Famiglia set a scorching pace and retired from the fray, jockey David Bouland brought Al Basmah into contention with a smooth run on the outside. Al Basmah stretched away to establish a sizeable lead with Granary yet to make her move. Frenchman Gerard Avranche, knowing the potential of Granary was unperturbed and when asked for an effort from her saddle partner, the Ghazali trainee produced an electrifying run to overhaul Al Basmah.
Trainer Ghazali was overwhelmed with the performance of Granary. “She is the best horse I have trained so far. Granary is the undoubtedly the best filly in Qatar and I am sure she is capable of winning some more races,” Ghazali told the Gulf Times.
“She is a nice filly and could have won in a better fashion. There were a lot of traffic problems in the race, but Granary was upto the task on hand. If she had a clear run, we would have won by over five lengths, but still she did well to win in trying circumstances,” jockey Avranche said.
Jockey Marchand’s forceful riding made the difference to the outcome of Al Wakra Cup, the other added attraction of the day. Marchand managed to get the George Mikhalides trained Al Nashat to stretch out in the nick of time to nose out the front-running Mutheer.
Trainer Mikhalides was excited at the victory. “We were planning to run Al Nashat in this race as she had shown her potential in her last run. Al Nashat had lost the race at the wire. She is one of the best horses I have under my care. The others were thinking that she did not have a chance, but Al Nashat surprised them all and justified the faith I had in her. I hope to surprise them everytime. We will see how she comes out of this race and pitch her in the big races,”
Qatari jockey Salem al-Marri rode a confident race on Ehaad, while taking the top honours in the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate. In a crunch situation, the heroics of the talented Qatari rider enabled Ehaad to sprout a pair of wings as the six-year-old chestnut gelding came with telling strides to overhaul Maa Al Thaaien V in the dying moments of the mile race. Though the Ibrahim al-Malki schooled Maa Al Thaaien V (Ahmed al-Malki astride) had stolen a march and was shaping like a winner, Marri brought the Suwaidi nurtured Ehaad into contention with a sustained run on the outside and got past the front runner in the shadow of the winning post. Maa Al Thaaien V did put in a gallant display despite having bolted on the way to the starting gates.
Jockey Stephen Ladjadj was at his aggressive best when steering Yousef Bentaher schooled Shytono Nain to an exciting win over Storm Sir and Casemate in the Thoroughbred Stakes. With a power-packed ride by Ladjadj, Shytono Nain came with devastating strides on the wide outside to overhaul Storm Sir who was shaping like a winner. Casemate was a faraway third.
Results:
1st race: Ehaad (Salem al-Marri) 1, Mai Al Thaaien V 2, Al Gathnfar 3, Shahd 4. Won by: 1, 3 ½, Hd. Time: 1:47.58. Trained by: Suwaidi. Owned by: Ahmed Salim al-Suwaidi
2nd race: Farah (Gerard Avranche) 1, Pep Sakbe 2, Al Zajel 3, Royal Al Mels 4. Won by: Hd, 3, 2. Time: 1:51.07. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani
3rd race: Jarrah (Adrie de Vries) 1, Baraka 2, Reesha 3, Al Munjez 4. Won by: Shd, 3, 5. Time: 1:34.54. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani
4th race: Shadhah (Arnaud Bouleau) 1, Keheilan 2, Jareh 3, Al Tibr 4. Won by: 1 ½, 1 ¼, 2 ½. Time: 1:09.19. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani
5th race: Shytono Nain (Stephen Ladjadj) 1, Storm Sir 2, Casemate 3, Ramaad 4. Won by: 1 ¼, 2 ½, 1. Time: 1:56.83. Trained by: Yousef Bentaher. Owned by: Sheikh bin Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani
6th race: Al Nashat (Marchand) 1, Mutheer 2, Al Noor 3, Shaddad 4. Won by: ½, 1 ¼, 1 ¾. Time: 1:49.55. Trained by: George Mikhalides. Owned by: Sheikha Rowdha bint Mishal bin Hamad al-Thani
7th race: Granary (Gerard Avranche) 1, Al Basmah 2, Baraari 3, Varya 4. Won by: Nk, 3 ½, 1 1/4. Time: 1:38.33. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Ahmed Fawaz Ahmed al-Attiyah. |
