The victory also meant that Champion Jockey Harry Bentley picked up three victories on the day.
The six furlong sprint on dirt, for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, saw Bentley set the pace alongside another Ghazali ward, The Pantry, early on, before taking a slight advantage on the straight, eventually holding off the challenge by Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani-saddled Random Decision at the line.
Ghazali, who also had a winner in the day’s opening race, combined well with Bentley for two more victories with Khalil Mansoor Khalil al-Shahwani-owned Musical Terms winning on his second outing, and Jassim bin Ali al-Attiyah’s Rassan continuing with his impressive run this season.
In the Class 4 Thoroughbred Handicap event for horses rated 80 and below, Musical Terms tracked early leaders Succeed and Excel and Subhaan, before going past them coming on to the home straight, and winning comfortably with two lengths to spare.
In the 1800m Purebred Arabian Conditions event, Rassan had stayed midfield even as Hamad Ahmed al-Malki al-Jehani’s Lucky Sand set the pace up front under Marc Lerner. The action heated up once in the final two furlongs, and while Lucky Sand tried holding his own, Rassan managed to edge forward in the final 100m.
In the penultimate race of the day, jockey Theo Bachelot and his partner Tamih, trained by Khalifa bin Ali bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, raced to a smashing victory beating an in-form Shabbab by a little more than five lengths to win the nine-furlong Thoroughbred Conditions event.
This was Bachelot’s second victory of the day, having earlier guided Ibrahim al-Malki-trained Izghawa, owned by Sheikh Faisal bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, to a sprint victory in the Thoroughbred Handicap event for horses rated 70-90.
Mohamed Khaled Elahmed-schooled Sarmad Bu Thaila took early lead before pulling away over the course of the 1700m race, and eventually winning the Local Thoroughbred Handicap event for horses rated 75 and below by five lengths.
Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani-schooled Al Ayyar was second under Bachelot, while Qatari rider Rashid Ali al-Marri was third astride Queen Maouya for trainer Abdulaziz Hamad al-Marri.
The result was the first of the two top-three finishes for Qatari rider al-Marri, who guided Mansoor Mesfer al-Hajri-schooled Haddaj Dukhan to a creditable runner-up finish behind Umm Qarn’s Barra in the Purebred Arabian Handicap event for horses rated 90 and below.
Earlier in the day, Qatar’s Abdulla Hazam al-Marri registered his first victory of the season guiding Ghazali-trained Al Fouz to a fantastic four-and-half-length victory in the Local Purebred Arabian Novice Plate event for Qatari riders only. Smart-schooled Al Ghawja, ridden by Ali Khalid al-Mosallam, was second ahead of Saleh Salem al-Marri-helmed Al Raad.
Al Jeryan Stud’s Silk Trade shed her maiden status on her sixth outing, topping the Class 6 Thoroughbred Maiden Plate event under Vaclav Janacek’s ride.
RESULTS
Race 1: 1. Al Fouz (Abdulla Hazam al-Marri), 2. Al Ghawja (Ali Khalid al-Mosallam), 3. Al Raad (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 4. Akbar (Abdulla Rashid al-Adgham). Won by: 4 ½, 12, Shd. Time: 2:08.99. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali; Race 2: 1. Silk Trade (Vaclav Janacek), 2. Masterful Man (Pier Convertino), 3. Screen Angel (Harry Bentley), 4. Al Hadath (Syed Sadath). Won by: 2 ½, Dist, Dist. Time: 2:14.16. Owner: Al Jeryan Stud. Trainer: Hadi al-Ramzani; Race 3: 1. Sarmad Bu Thaila (Darren Williams), 2. Al Ayyar (Theo Bachelot), 3. Queen Maouya (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 4. Saab Al Manal (Harry Bentley). Won by: 5, 7 ½, 2 ½. Time: 1:51.59. Owner: Subaiya Awad Ibrahim. Trainer: Mohamed Khaled; Race 4: 1. Musical Terms (Harry Bentley), 2. Woodkid (Theo Bachelot), 3. Yaarmen (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. Succeed and Excel (Marc Lerner). Won by: 2, 1 ¼, 6. Time: 1:48.20. Owner: Khalil Mansoor Khalil al-Shahwani. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali; Race 5: 1. Izghawa (Theo Bachelot), 2. Saakhen (JP Guillambert), 3. Munira Eyes (Eduardo Pedroza), 4. Poet’s Song (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: ¾, ½, 1 ½. Time: 1:12.14. Owner: Sheikh Faisal bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani. Trainer: Ibrahim al-Malki; Race 6: 1. Barra (Stephan Ladjadj), 2. Haddaj Dukhan (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 3. Dheeb Al Shajaa (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 4. Al Malhoufa (Harry Bentley). Won by: 3, 4 ½, ½. Time: 1:19.38. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle; Race 7: 1. Rassan (Harry Bentley), 2. Lucky Sand (Marc Lerner), 3. Rasi (Pier Convertino), 4. Shabah (Theo Bachelot). Won by: ½, ½, Shd. Time: 2:07.02. Owner: Jassim bin Ali al-Attiyah. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali; Race 8: 1. Tamih (Theo Bachelot), 2. Shabbab (Pier Convertino), 3. Pearl Bridge (Marvin Suerland), 4. Generalship (Harry Bentley). Won by: 5 ¼, ¾, 1 ½. Time: 1:54.38. Owner: Al Wasmiyah Farm. Trainer: Khalifa bin Ali bin Mohamed al-Attiyah; Race 9: 1. Anima Rock (Harry Bentley), 2. Random Decision (Theo Bachelot), 3. The Pantry (JP Guillambert), 4. Rockin Fella (Eduardo Pedroza). Won by: 1 ½, 5 ¾, 25. Time: 1:12.61. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.