Earlier in the day, jockey Gerald Avranche had an impressive day guiding four winners.
In the final race of the day, Theo Bachelot-ridden Barwod stayed midfield as Ahmed Kobeissi’s Fort Moville set the pace in the 2200 Thoroughbred Trophy Trial.
As the field opened up coming on to the home straight, Harry Bentley had Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s The Blue Eye take a slight advantage but soon, with a furlong to go, Barwod and another Al Shahania horse, Qatari Gold, helmed by Avranche, mounted an attack. Eventually Barwod beat Jassim Mohamed Ghazali’s charge by a quarter of a length.
“We were running this horse (Barwod) predominantly over a mile but we could figure that he could go further. The goal was to run today and to see if he can stay the distance with a possible Emir’s Sword in mind. Now look he has beaten The Blue Eye, which is the best horse in Doha,” Smart told Gulf Times yesterday.
“It doesn’t mean he can beat him again, but we now have a chance, and with Sheikh Mohamed’s other horse finishing third… I don’t think Sheikh Mohamed has won the Emir’s Thoroughbred Trophy before. So if we can win that for him, me or any one of the other trainers, we would be happy.”
In the penultimate race of the day, the 2200m Purebred Arabian Sword Trial, Olivier Peslier guided Yazeed to a dominant victory, the horse’s third this season in Qatar. Smart’s Shabih Alreeh finished second, a little more than four lengths behind, while De Mieulle-saddled Sehab completed the top three.
“It’s a good preparation for him (Yazeed) for the Emir’s Sword. We have to beat some good horses like (Smart-trained) Ebraz. Today we wanted him to relax a bit because the next time he has to go for 2400m, 200m longer than he did today. So I told the jockey, Olivier Peslier, to hold him back a bit early on, and then let him do what he wants to on the straight, and he said it was easy handling him. No problem,” de Mieulle said.
Avranche was astride Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani-schooled AJS Dhabi as the filly shed her maiden status edging out Hassan al-Matwi’s Raqee for a win in the Purebred Arabian Silver Sword Trial.
Avranche had earlier guided Yousef Ben Taher’s in-form Molheb Al Naif to a smashing five length victory in the Purebred Arabian Trial, after having won astride Mohamed Hussain’s Poets Dream and Ibido-saddled Salman Bu Thaila.
Salman Bu Thaila’s blistering run in the last 100m saw the five-year-old pick up a magnificient victory at the line, edging out Hamad Ahmed al-Malki al-Jehani-trained Moaddie by a short head in the 1850m Local Thoroughbred Trial. Ghazali-saddled Al Hareth completed the top three.
Poets Dream was Hussain’s second winner of the day, with Qatari rider Mohamed Abdulla Juma guiding Dhafi Rashid al-Marri’s Tahri Baha to a close victory in the first race of the day, a seven furlong Local Purebred Arabian Novice Cup for Qatari riders only.
Avranche managed to keep Al Thumama Racing’s Poets Dream just ahead at the line, beating Ghazali-trained duo, Anima Rock and Mualah, for the win in the Thoroughbred 3 Year Old Trial event.
The owner-trainer-jockey trio of Injaaz Stud, Ghazali and Bentley picked up two victories on the day.
Black Granite led a one-two in the Class 2 Thoroughbred Cup Trial edging out stablemate Sir Guy Porteous in a thrilling finish for his first victory this season. Smart-trained Oryx was third under Bachelot.
Izzthatright improved his strike rate as the gelding raced to his eighth straight victory, topping the Class 2 Thoroughbred Sprint Trial event under Champion Jockey Bentley.
Ghazali’s ward, the favourite to win the six furlong sprint, beat Bachelot-ridden Binzart comfortably by a length while Hussain-trained Risk Adjusted had to settle for third under Avranche.
RESULTS
Race 1: 1. Tahri Baha (Mohamed Abdulla Juma), 2. Al Eshrah (Meteb Ali al-Marri), 3. Zakhir Al Majd (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 4. Walaa (Ali Hamad al-Marri). Won by: ½, ½, 1 ½. Time: 1:35.75. Owner: Dhafi Rashid al-Marri. Trainer: Mohamed Hussain.
Race 2: 1. Izzthatright (Harry Bentley), 2. Binzart (Theo Bachelot), 3. Risk Adjusted (Gerald Avranche), 4. Sandbetweenourtoes (JP Guillambert), Black Beach (Jean Baptiste Hamel). Won by: 1, No, 2 ½, Dh. Time: 1:12.37. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.
Race 3: 1. Poets Dream (Gerald Avranche), 2. Anima Rock (Harry Bentley), 3. Mualah (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. Black Orange (Pier Convertino). Won by: Hd, ¾, ¾. Time: 2:25.64. Owner: Al Thumama Racing. Trainer: Mohamed Hussain.
Race 4: 1. Salman Bu Thaila (Gerald Avranche), 2. Moaddie (Marc Lerner), 3. Al Hareth (Harry Bentley), 4. Al Ajdal (Vaclav Janacek). Won by: Shd, 2 ¼, ¾. Time: 1:56.68. Owner: Abdulhadi Mana al-Hajri. Trainer: Stefano Ibido.
Race 5: 1. Black Granite (Harry Bentley), 2. Sir Guy Porteous (JP Guillambert), 3. Oryx (Theo Bachelot), 4. Parkes and Ride. Won by: Nk, Shd, 1 ¼. Time: 1:25.00. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.
Race 6: 1. Molheb Al Naif (Gerald Avranche), 2. AJS Gannas (Tomas Lukasek), 3. Caid De L’Ardus (Harry Bentley), 4. Nairouz (Theo Bachelot). Won by: 4 ¾, ¾, 1 ½. Time: 1:45.70. Owner: Al Naif Racing. Trainer: Yousef Ben Taher.
Race 7: 1. AJS Dhabi (Gerald Avranche), 2. Raqee (Marc Lerner), 3. Jethjath (JP Guillambert), 4. Samhan Al Shajaa (Saleem Golam). Won by: Shd, 2 ¼, 5. Time: 1:47.51. Owner: Al Jeryan Stud. Trainer: Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani.
Race 8: 1. Yazeed (Olivier Peslier), 2. Shabih Alreeh (Theo Bachelot), 3. Sehab (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. AJS Al Rayyan (Gerald Avranche). Won by: 4 ¼, 1 ¾, ½. Time: 2:33.69. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 9: 1. Barwod (Theo Bachelot), 2. The Blue Eye (Harry Bentley), 3. Qatari Gold (Gerald Avranche), 4. Hall of Mirrors (Adnan Hawa). Won by: ¼ 1 ¼, 3 ¾. Time: 2:18.17. Owner: Al Shahania Stud. Trainer: Julian Smart.
