For the second straight year, trainer Julian Smart and his ward denied Al Shaqab Racing’s Al Mourtajez a win in the million dollar HH The Emir’s Sword (Gr1 PA).
Ebraz, ridden by Alan Munro, had the royal blue and white colours of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani in the winners’ enclosure for the Purebred Arabians feature for the second straight year, with Smart-trained Gazwan having won the 2016 edition.
Thomas Fourcy had Laft Nethar set the pace up front in the 2400m race, while another Smart charge, Ba’sil, ran alongside. Five furlongs out, Al Mourtajez, under Julien Auge, took control up ahead and Ebraz and Gazwan, helmed by Richard Mullen, picked up pace too.
On to the home stretch, just when it looked like the Dahess colt will pull away, four-year-old Ebraz, with a six-kilo advantage, powered ahead, even as Umm Qarn’s Tayf came up alongside Gazwan on the inside.
Ebraz’s run meant Smart registered his first win in the three-day HH The Emir’s Sword Festival, three-and-a-half lengths ahead of Alban de Mieulle-schooled Tayf, while Al Mourtajez completed the top three for the second straight year.
“This had been an absolutely horrible weekend so far… under pressure like you wouldn’t believe. The horses have been running ok but… I don’t like doing this every year but yeah, we won the big one and that’s great,” Smart told Gulf Times after the win, which also evoked a few tears among the connections.
“It gets emotional because the pressure is just immense. Ebraz is a super horse, he is very well bred. To beat Gazwan, Al Mourtajez and Tayf at four years old… he is a baby. To get six kilos with the ability that he had, it was a huge. The way he went, he might have won with level weights anyway,” Smart added.
“Shabih Alreeh and Ebraz are the only quality youngsters I have this year. Everyone is saying Shahania is having a bad year. We are, because we don’t have the numbers. I am also a little low on quality this year. But every big racing operation goes through that. For us it is now. These two horses are for the future. Shabih Alreeh ran really well in the earlier race, but one mile is probably a little short for him,” he continued.
With Ebraz finishing top two in his four starts this season, including two wins, Smart reckons he can be a contender for the Doha Triple Crown. “Triple Crown is what everyone with Arabians wants to win. So that’s Ebraz’s target. I might run both of them again here, maybe in the Gold Sword. Let’s just make sure they are ok after this one first,” Smart said.
Abdulla Kuwaiti-trained Chopin was a sight to behold with a devastating run in the Thoroughbred feature, HH The Emir’s Trophy (Gr1).
Bahrain-based Chopin was first trained by Germany’s Andreas Wohler, who also had Qatar Derby winner Noor Al Hawa in the race.
After biding his time early on, jockey Alberto Sanna made his move and once his ride got going on the home stretch, there was little the chasers, including Noor Al Hawa and Smart’s Fundamental, could do, except finishing second and third.
AJS Gannas was Hadi al-Ramzani’s first winner of the meeting, and in the process the Al Jeryan Stud colt broke the stranglehold of Jassim Ghazali on HH The Emir’s Silver Sword, with the champion trainer having won the race for the last three years. The four-year-old colt overcame some really dismal form this season when Gerald Avranche was first past the post, with Ghazali duo Melk and Ateej completing the podium.
Ghazali’s Opera Baron had rarely run a bad race since his Al Biddah Mile win last year but yesterday it just wasn’t supposed to be.
Instead, Altarsheed, trained by Ghazali’s son, Mohamed, for Sheail bin Khalifa al-Kuwari, registered his second win in Qatar and first over 2000m at the QREC, with Richard Mullen at the helm of the four-year-old.
Once the bay gelding took the advantage half a furlong from the post, it comfortably finished ahead of Rashid al-Jehani-schooled Courtofversailles, while Dubawi’s son Flag War was third under JP Guillambert.
It was British raider Mr Scaramanga who took the Al Biddah Mile under experienced Dutch jockey Adrie de Vries for trainer Simon Dow. Once De Vries had his ride go through a gap between early leaders Sea Fox and Catch A Wave, he held on gamely even as Ibrahim al-Malki-saddled Pazeer and Tariq Issa-trained Notalot came in fast to complete the top three under Eduardo Pedroza and Gerald Avranche respectively.
Injaaz Stud’s Izzthatright opened the account for the day for trainer Jassim Ghazali and Harry Bentley, who have combined for six wins this meeting, with another one for the British jockey on a horse saddled by Mohamed Jassim Ghazali.
The five-year-old gelding tracked British raider Caspian Prince, before taking the lead in the final 100m and holding on for a win even as Frankie Dettori-ridden Black Granite, also a Ghazali ward for Injaaz Stud, and Gerald Avranche’s ride Notalot, went past the early leader to complete the top three.
“Caspian Prince is rapid, but once he got there, he just did what he had to. I knew they were going to go fast and this lad (Izzthatright) is very quick too and it was only a matter of getting into the right position, which we did,” Bentley said after the race.
Umm Qarn’s TM Thunder Struck had some unfinished business in the Qatar International Cup (Gr1 PA), having failed to fire in the 2014 and 2015 editions.
Yesterday, Alban de Mieulle’s seven-year-old ward faced no such trouble, following up his win in January in HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani Cup (Gr3 PA) with a big one.
Olivier Peslier was on the Majd Al Arab colt for the second straight race, and yesterday, he kept his mount within striking distance of early leader Mith’haf Athbah, ridden by Eduardo Pedroza.
A furlong from the post, he was alongside Ibrahim al-Malki’s ward, and steadily took the advantage, even as Julien Auge came threateningly close on Al Shaqab Racing’s Zikreet.
Eventually, De Mieulle’s horse edged out Thomas Fourcy’s colt, while HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani’s Shabih Alreeh was a close third.
Ahmed Kobeissi’s Sraab had missed out on the Al Rayyan’s Breeders Cup last year after the vet scratched the mare for an off hind wound before the race. This year, Sraab came back stronger and in form that had seen her win four out of her six starts this season.
Yesterday, Alan Munro guided Sraab, owned by Mohamed Kazim al-Ansari & Sons, to a thrilling victory in the 2000m race, biding his time, before going past Jassim Ghazali-trained Al Hareth and Zuhair Mohsen-saddled Asaaf in the last 100m for the win.
“She has always been the best filly I have had. She won two cups, and only ran four times last season. She got injured before the race last year, kicked the rails, and we couldn’t run her then. But she has come back really nice,” Kobeissi said after the win. “Alan has won two Cups with her before, and knows her really well.”
 
RESULTS
Race 1: 1. Sraab (Alan Munro), 2. Aseef (Eduardo Pedroza), 3. Al Hareth (Harry Bentley), 4. Hadeer (Gaetan Faucon). Won by: Nk, Hd, 1 1/4. Owner: Mohamed Kazim al-Ansari & Sons. Trainer: Ahmed Kobeissi.
Race 2: 1. TM Thunder Struck (Olivier Peslier), 2. Zikreet (Julien Auge), 3. Shabih Alreeh (Richard Mullen), 4. Mahess Du Soleil (Adrie de Vries). Won by: Shd, 3/4, 1. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 3: 1. Izzthatright (Harry Bentley), 2. Black Granite (Frankie Dettori), 3. Caspian Prince (Tom Eaves), 4. Gracious John (John Egan). Won by: Nk, Hd, 1/2. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 4: 1. Mr Scaramanga (Adrie de Vries), 2. Pazeer (Eduardo Pedroza), 3. Notalot (Gerald, 4. Sea Fox. Won by: 3/4, Hd, Nk. Owner: Robert Moss and Christopher Brennan. Trainer: Simon Dow.
Race 5: 1. Altarsheed (Richard Mullen), 2. Courtofversailles (Gerald Avranche), 3. Flag War (JP Guillambert), 4. Al Mohalhal (Darren Williams). Won by: 1 1/4, Hd, Shd. Owner: Sheail bin Khalifa al-Kuwari. Trainer: Mohamed Jassim Ghazali.
Race 6: 1. AJS Gannas (Gerald Avranche), 2. Melk (Harry Bentley), 3. Ateej (Adrie de Vries), 4. Brama De Pompadour (Olivier Peslier). Won by: 1 1/2, Nk, 1/2. Owner: Al Jeryan Stud. Trainer: Hadi al-Ramzani.
Race 7: 1. Chopin (Alberto Sanna), 2. Noor Al Hawa (Adrie de Vries), 3. Fundamental (Richard Mullen), 4. Vitally Important (Darren Williams). Won by: 4, 3/4, Hd. Owner: Maher Ebrahim Lutfalla. Trainer: Abdulla Kuwaiti.
Race 8: 1. Ebraz (Alan Munro), 2. Tayf (Olivier Peslier), 3. Al Mourtajez (Julien Auge), 4. Gazwan (Richard Mullen). Won by: 3 1/2, Hd, Hd. Owner: HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.
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