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Alban de Mieulle trained Tabarak recorded a thrilling win over Rathwan in the final stride of the HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Cup, a Group III race for Pure Arabians, the feature event of the races at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. In form jockey Pier Convertino did a tidy job on the Umm Qarn champion as he held his nerves together and managed to get the better of Rathowan who had shaped to win with a furlong left in the race.
Theeb settled to lead as the field set out for the 1,850 metres trip followed by Al Jeali, while Rathowan and Tabarak were in close attendance. Rathowan brought the field into the straight and he was not inclined to give up easily as he fought on resolutely but with a furlong left in the race, he looked vulnerable. Tabarak who came through the shortest way home and Rathowan were locked in a battle for supremacy with the former clinching the issue on the post.
Trainer Mieulle who had a glorious day at the races with four winners was mighty pleased with the performance of Tabarak. “It has been a great day for Umm Qarn and I am happy with the way Tabarak won today. What pleased me more was the win of Raddad who has improved tremendously and he will be the horse of the future,” Mieulle told the Gulf Times.
Al Rayyan Al Sakab recorded an encore in the local Thoroughbred Graduation Plate. The Mohammed bin Hamad al-Attiya schooled Al Rayyan Al Sakab, who had recorded a facile win, was raced in a handy second position by jockey Marvin Suerland. Once put into top gear, Al Rayyan Al Sakab swept into a decisive lead and held on to win from a late rallying Al Naif Trade Mark who was left to do too much in the end.
Earlier in the day, the first division of the local bred Pure Arabian Maiden Plate saw the well bred Assy (Amer-Margouia) shed his maiden status in only his second start in fine fashion. The Julian Smart trained Assy (Richard Mullen up) graced the mid bunch till the home stretch before gaining speed on the wide outside to edge clear of Mujaazef. Though Assy did not beat anything of note, there is no doubting his class. The Amer progeny should do well in his career.
Jassim al-Ghazali schooled Zakon won the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 65 to 85 in a thrilling contest. Racing prominently in the front group, Zakon went sailing clear when the race came on the boil but was soon challenged by Umm Qarn’s Nasr. A gruelling contest ensued between the two but jockey Yanis Auoabed was able to extract that much more from Zakon who held on gamely to win by a neck.
Jockey Sylvain Ruis guided the George Mikhalides trained Gojeri in workman-like fashion, while winning the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 85 and above. Ruis rode Gojeri well off the pace as Archers Prize showed the way to the field but made gradual progress and made easy meat of the leader in the straight. Al Muthanaa warmed up late and found the winner had already reached the safety of the winning post.
Alban de Mieulle saddled Suwaida edged out Sodouh Al Naif in a close finish in the second division of the local bred Pure Arabian Maiden Plate. Sodouh Al Naif (Stephen Ladjadj astride) had assumed command and looked set to land the spoils, but was caught by the finishing burst of Suwaida, which was given a peach of a ride by Italian saddle artist Convertino. Robbama and Al Fath also finished on strongly to take the third and fourth place respectively.
Mieulle had another winner for the day when Raddad (David Bouland up) clinched a runaway victory in the Pure Arabian Handicap for horses rated 40 to 70. After ridden in check until the home turn, Raddad was quick to pounce on the front runner and sped away to win as he pleased.
Mieulle’s third winner came through Halik, which was capably ridden by Convertino while taking the top honours in the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 50 to 70.
Though coming late on the scene, the power packed finish of Convertino enabled Halik to cover a lot of ground before going away from the pack to win by a widening margin of two lengths. Christmas Aria also came with a late rally to finish a noteworthy second ahead of Mega Mount.
Results
1st race: Assy (Richard Mullen) 1, Manjam 2, Ajs Fath Elkheir 3, Khalfa 4. Won by: 5, ¾, 1 ¾. Time: 1:40.99. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: Al Shahania Stud
2nd race: Suwaida (Pier Convertino) 1, Sodouh Al Naif 2, Robbama 3, Al Fath 4. Won by: Hd, Nk, Hd. Time: 1:43.50. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn
3rd race: Al Rayyan Al Sakab (Marvin Suerland) 1, Al Naif Trade Mark 2, Assil 3, Brave Heart 4. Won by: 1, ½, 5. Time: 1:40.52. Trained by: Mohammed Hamad al-Attiya. Owned by: Hamad bin Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Attiya
4th race: Raddad (David Bouland) 1, Barwa 2, Shael De Faust 3, Shaklan 4. Won by: 1 ¾, 1 ¾, 1. Time: 1:46.00. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn
5th race: Halik (Pier Convertino), Christmas Aria 2, Mega Mount 3, Ghalaa 4. Won by: 2, Shd, ¾. Time: 1:32.72. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn
6th race: Zakon (Yanis Aouabed) 1, Nasr 2, Exodus 3, Marked Card 4. Won by: Nk, 3, 1 ¾. Time: 2:12.90. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Mohammed bin Ali al-Attiya
7th race: Gojeri (Sylvain Ruis) 1, Al Muthanaa 2, Right To Dream 3, Hail 4. Won by: 1, ½, Nk. Time: 1:36.45. Trained by: George Mikhalides. Owned by: Sheikh Abdullah bin Mishal bin Hamad al-Thani
8th race: Tabarak (Pier Convertino) 1, Rathowan 2, Aziz 3, Dharr 4. Won by: ½, 5, 1. Time: 2:01.01. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn
