By Chris Hoover/Chichester, England
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan owned Sir Bani Yas came with a late stretch run to overhaul Prada T and Mister Ginoux to land the first leg of the Doha Triple Crown, the Group I Qatar International Stakes in the penultimate event of the Qatar Goodwood Festival yesterday. This was the first ever time that a Pure Arabian race was being held at Goodwood.
Sir Bani Yas was saddled by Elizabeth Bernard in the name of her late husband, Jean-Francois who passed away earlier this year. It certainly was an emotional moment for Elizabeth, while leading Sir Bani Yas into the winners enclosure. Sir Bani Yas is bred by Qatar’s Umm Qarn owned stallion Amer.
The five year old French raider had won the 10-furlong French Derby at Chantilly last year and his assured stamina came in handy as he snatched victory Prada T in the shadow of the winning post. Favourite Mister Ginoux carrying the colours of Al Shaqab Racing was third. Jean-Bernard Eyquem was astride the winner.
Run over one mile (1,600m) it was the first leg of the inaugural Doha Triple Crown, a valuable new initiative with a $1 million bonus for any horse that can claim all three races. The second leg is the 2,000m Qatar Arabian World Cup, run at Longchamp in October, with the final leg in Doha in February, the 2,400m HH The Emir’s Sword.
An emotional Elizabeth Bernard told the Gulf Times. “This is a great victory for us. I followed whatever my husband taught me for 21 years. I did not change a thing and everything went well for us. The next target is definitely the second leg at Longchamp but we will take a call on this after meeting the owner in the next 10 days.”
Alex Bishop, representing winning owner Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nayhan, said: “Sir Bani Yas really finished inside the final furlong. The jockey asked him and he delivered.
“It was a bit nerve racking - my heart nearly imploded at one point - but we are really happy with the result. Madame Bernard is delighted as it is a really big race and hopefully the horse can continue to do well for the remainder of the season.”
