Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club general manager Nasser Sherida al-Kaabi at the draw for the Qatar Stewards Cup at the winners enclosure of the Goodwood Racecouse yesterday. PICTURE: Juhaim
By Chris Hoover/Chichester, England
Huntsmans Close will break from stall 14 in tomorrow’s £250,000 Qatar Stewards’ Cup, following yesterday’s draw ceremony in the winner’s enclosure at Goodwood, where connections decided on which stall they wanted. Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club general manager Nasser Sherida al-Kaabi picked the draw in the winner’s enclosure of the Goodwood Racecourse.
The Roger Charlton trained Huntsmans Close topped the market for the famous six-furlong handicap since the entries were made, following a narrow victory in a Handicap race at Windsor on June 27.
Trainer Dean Ivory’s top weights Tropics and Lancelot Du Lac were drawn seven and five respectively. With the preference for outside draws, Mike Murphy’s Discussion to follow was the first to be picked and the connections preferred draw 18, followed by Boomerang Bob (23), Toofi (10), Another Wise Kid (8), Robot Boy (20), Algar Lad (19), Related (24). There are 28 contenders for Qatar Stewards Cup, which features the final day’s races.
“We are very pleased with the Festival and the audience that are here. It has been a very good beginning with the Qatar Goodwood Festival. This is our first year and the feedback that we have got is very good. We are proud to be here to develop the British and Qatar partnership and sponsorship with this festival. We are happy to be year and look forward to be here for many years to come. This is a joint venture that will benefit everybody. It will definitely help the British and Qatar horse racing industry,” QREC general manager Nasser Sherida al-Kaabi told the Gulf Times.
“We will surely have more Qatari participation in the coming years. This is the plan we have to invite the Qatari owned horses to come to Newbury as well as Goodwood. They could also participate in different races in the UK and France. We hope to see more interesting horses coming to participate here in the future,” al-Kaabi added.
“The first leg of the Triple Crown will be held here on Saturday. It is one of the biggest prize money in Pure Arabian racing. The race card looks very interesting. There are a lot of strong horses in the event. We wanted to have a very tough competition and I am glad that it has turned out to be exactly that.”
Trainer Charlton, who is seeking a record-equalling fourth Qatar Stewards’ Cup, commented after selecting stall 14 when Huntsmans Close was the ninth horse picked out: “I am happy with the draw as, at first glance, there seems to be more pace among the low numbers. If you are a front-runner you are happy to be on the wing, but if you like to follow the pace you are better having a choice and that’s what we have in 14. I will leave where to go in the race to George (Baker, jockey).
“It is a lottery and we may end up in the wrong place. We now don’t have the luxury of saying after this we were drawn in the wrong place! We have been lucky in the Stewards’ Cup three times before and a fourth one would be really nice. There are a lot of horses with great chances and there is no such thing as a good thing in a race like this. A lot of these horses are fully exposed and you don’t get into a race like this unless you are. It all depends who is in the best form on the day.”
“Huntsmans Close is not at the top of the handicap but when you do get there, there is not a lot of difference between Group horses and high-class handicappers. I would not be surprised if he won but I am not going into the race thinking I will be disappointed if he doesn’t win.
“This is the first time I have been involved in the draw ceremony for this race. Mike Cattermole has been lucky in the past for me but could not be here today. I was determined to get a middle draw if I could and an even number.”
Olly Stevens is hoping Gamesome can live up to his tall reputation after going for stall 11 when his charge was seventh up. The four-year-old was sixth in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot, but trailed home in 14th when dropped to five furlongs at Ascot on July 11.
The middle and high numbers were most popular, with stalls three, four, five, six and seven the last five on offer.
