Major General Tamir bin Ali al-Mashadi (fourth from right) and QREC chairman HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Faleh al-Thani (second from right) are seen with the winners of the Qatar Thoroughbred Derby yesterday.

 

 

BY Chris Hoover/Doha

Jassim al-Ghazali trained Dubday treated the opposition with disdain when running away with the QR1.5 million Qatar Thoroughbred Derby, the first classic of the season at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. The success through Dubday should give a great boost to the classic prospects of Ghazali this season. The three-year-old bay colt is owned by Sheail bin Khalifa al-Kuwari.

Making his debut in Qatar, Dubday raced in midbunch, while Beach Club, Botanic Garden, Oasis Cannes and Defendant set the pace. Jockey Harry Bentley astride Dubday, made his move approaching the final bend and came into reckoning with a fluent run.

Beach Club continued to call the shots, but once the Ghazali trainee was shown the daylight, Dubday bounced clear and won by a widening margin of over two lengths. This was an extremely impressive win for Dubday who simply outclassed the opposition. Oasis Cannes who went with the pace, ran on to be third behind Beach Club.

Ghazali who had won the Derby with Ladyanne in 2011, was elated with the success of Dubday, “It is not easy to win the Derby and I am very lucky to have done it again. I must thank my owners Sheikh Mishal bin Hamad al-Thani and Sheail al-Kuwari for giving me good horses to train and their faith in me. Though Dubday was running here for the first time, he was simply brilliant and I have huge hopes on him for the other classics as well.”

“To be honest, it was a bit messy at the start. I was not very quick at the gates and I had to accept a position at the back. Dubday travelled very well all the way and just before the bottom bend, I switched him out of the rails. I still had to get through a bit a traffic and in the straight he seemed to switch a couple of gears and sailed past the others to win well. Dubday is a brilliant colt and I must thank trainer Ghazali for giving me the opportunity to ride him in this big race,” jockey Bentley told the Gulf Times.

Julian Smart trained Assy (Amer-Marqouia) trounced the opposition in the Qatar Local Bred Pure Arabian Derby. The four-year-old grey colt who had made his last appearance on the track on December 4 a winning one continued from where he had left off and had the field well beaten at the top of the straight with a scorching run in front.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani owned Al Anga (Amer-Kerbelle Du Loup) proved that she is one of the best four year olds here when easily claiming the Pure Arabian Fillies Championship. The progeny of Amer bounced back in amazing fashion to beat the challenge of Vetlana De Faust who tried runaway tactics but failed to prevent Al Anga from gaining the advantage close home.

Aden recorded an encore in impressive style in the 1,600 metres Doha Pure Arabian Oaks, a QR300,000 contest for three-year-old fillies. The three year old bay filly looked impressive in the paddock parade, handled the conditions well and swept past the field in the final furlong to with ease from TM Reagan Bret who looked set to land the spoils but was floored by the finishing burst of the Smart trained Aden. The champion filly completed a treble for its owner HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Djainka Des Forges continued the dominance of Al Shahania Stud with a brilliant win in the Group II Pure Arabian Derby for four year olds. After being restrained in fifth position till turning for home, Djainka Des Forges surged clear in the straight and went sailing clear to win with ease from Kalino and Al Atique.

“Yesterday the three-year-old Derby was a lovely Christmas day present for me but what can one say with five winners today. To beat Muntasar, Kalino, La Hoor and some other great horses is something special. We had a terrible time last year with only 19 winners and we already have 20 winners. Fortune in racings swings a lot and it does not last but we are going to enjoy until it lasts. It has been a great day and all this has been possible because of the team work at Al Shahania,” a jubilant trainer Smart said.

Rashid al-Jehani al-Malki schooled Moaddie  just about got the measure of front running Aseer in the final stride of the race to win the Qatar Local Thoroughbred Derby. Jockey Yanis Aouabed was able to extract a winning acceleration with a power packed finish, which was witness to an exciting duel.

Umm Qarn bred Waad (Mugadir-Entisar) pulled off a sensational victory and finally tasted her first success in her 15th start. It didn’t come easy though, as she had to fight all the way to the wire to win the Local Bred Pure Arabian Maiden Plate. Julian Smart saddled Al Nefor went stride for stride with Waad but the bobbing of heads went in favour of Alban de Mieulle trained Waad, who won by the shortest of margins.

Trainer Smart had reason to rejoice after losing the first race narrowly. Al Bashtoon (Harry Bentley up) galloped strongly at the business end to launch his strike from a long way back to score a decisive win in the Pure Arabian Handicap for horses rated 40 to 70. Guide Al Khal led the field into the straight and lead at a good clip. Qabas started to mount pressure as they came past the 300 meter mark. Al Bashtoon propelled his attack from the outside and gathered terrific momentum. When he came close to the two in front, he was in full flight and shot past them without difficulty. He is capable of a similar show when saddled next.

Results:

1st race: Waad (Pier Convertino) 1, Al Nefor 2, Seif Ennar 3, Dareaat Al Naif 4. Won by: Shd, 3, 1. Time: 1:48.64. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn

2nd race: Al Bashtoon (Harry Bentley) 1, Qabas 2, Guide Al Khal 3, AJS Fath Elkheir 4. Won by: 3, 2, Shd. Time: 1:46.93. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani

3rd race: Al Anga (Harry Bentley) 1, Vetlana De Faust 2, Candahar 3, Suwaida 4. Won by: 1, 2 ½, 1 ¾. Time: 2:19.38. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani

4th race: Scargill (Yanis Aouabed) 1, Rossa Corsa 2, Peter Mac 3, Roman Legend 4. Won by: 2 ½, 1 ½, 3. Time: 1:24.92. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Khalil Mansoor al-Shahwani

5th race: Aden (Richard Mullen) 1, TM Reagan Bret 2, Karamah 3, Khafouqi 4. Won by: ½, 1 ¾, 4. Time: 1:47.54. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani

6th race: Moaddie (Yanis Aouabed) 1, Aseer 2, White Heart 3, Flintstone 4. Won by: Nk, Distance, 3. Time: 2:02.14. Trained by: Rashid al-Jehani al-Malki. Owned by: Ahmed Hassan al-Malki al-Jehani

7th race: Assy (Richard Mullen) 1, La Hoor 2, Arrafa 3, Al Azuur 4. Won by: 7, 6, 3 ½. Time: 2:12.39. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: Al Shahania Stud

8th race: Djainka Des Forges (Richard Mullen) 1, Kalino 2, Al Atique 3, Muntasar 4. Won by: 2, 3 ½, 1 ½. Time: 2:11.91. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: : HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani

9th race: Dubday (Harry Bentley) 1, Beach Club 2, Oasis Cannes 3, Zarkiyr 4. Won by: 2, 1 ½, 2. Time: 2:02.14. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Sheail bin Khalifa al-Kuwari

Related Story