Gazwan, The Blue Eye wins light up Emir’s Sword Festival

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani and trainer Julian Smart enjoyed a hat-trick in HH The Emir’s Sword (Gr1 PA) with unstoppable Gazwan taking the million dollar Arabian feature, while Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s The Blue Eye too struck back for his second HH The Emir’s Trophy (Gr1) victory in three years at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) yesterday.
His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani presented the trophies to the winners.
In the finale, all eyes were on Umm Qarn’s Yazeed, unbeaten in Qatar this season coming into the race, and Smart’s other ward, Ebraz, last year’s winner, both of who were lighting up the competition all season long coming into yesterday’s big one.
However, yesterday, when the field took the turn, Cristian Demuro let the 2016 champion go and that left too much ground to cover for Alban de Mieulle-trained Yazeed, helmed by Olivier Peslier, even as Theo Bachelot-ridden Ebraz was fast gaining ground.
Yazeed perhaps found a mile and a half too much, having to step up from his 2200m trial victory, as Ebraz eased past to take the second spot two lengths ahead of the former.
“My biggest concern was that he had not had a race since the Arc. But he is an absolute beast of a horse. Look he doesn’t win all of his races, but the races that he does win, he beats the best,” Smart told Gulf Times after his sixth win in Qatar’s flagship Arabian race in the last eight years.
De Mieulle was all praise for the winner. “Gazwan is a very good horse. Yes, I am a little bit disappointed about Yazeed, but I think the distance may have been a little too much for him. And the quality of the horses in front of him, Ebraz and Gazwan, is good,” he said.
The victory was Demuro’s second on the day having won the card-opening Al Rayyan Breeders Cup with Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani-trained Cannon.
Earlier in the day, the camp of Champion Trainer Jassim Mohamed Ghazali and al-Kuwari went ballistic with their celebrations after Champion Jockey Harry Bentley rode two big winners, including The Blue Eye in the million dollar Thoroughbed feature and Easter De Faust in HH The Emir’s Silver Sword.
The Blue Eye beat a highly-rated international competition, including Andreas Wohler’s Noor Al Hawa, Chad Brown’s American raider Money Multiplier and Qatar Derby-winning Italian contender Mac Mahon, to snap up his second Emir’s Trophy victory in three years.
Bentley had the six-year-old run midfield even as Frankie Dettori, riding Money Multiplier in the famous colours of Al Shahania Stud, took on Ahmed Kobeissi’s Fort Moville early, and then set the pace before finding himself alongside Eduardo Pedroza-ridden Noor Al Hawa coming off the final bend.
The Blue Eye surged forward coming on to the home straight and eased past Al Wasmiyah Farm’s Noor Al Hawa metres out for a fantastic win. Mac Mahon, under Dario Vargiu, took the inside line but just made it to the frame, while UK handler Andrew Balding’s Elbereth made it to fifth.
“The Blue Eye is a champion. Everyone knows that. He got beaten, but it doesn’t mean that he is not a champion anymore. Champions emerge once in a while, but they don’t run every day,” an elated al-Kuwari said.
Ghazali, who had a hat-trick on Day Two of the festival and won two big ones yesterday, was a proud trainer. “I feel the contenders who have come from outside Qatar to race here, it should be put in their heads that it is not going to be easy here. They need to know that there is a horse from Qatar, a trainer Jassim Ghazali, (an owner in) Mr. Sheail bin Khalifa al-Kuwari, and it is not going to be easy to win against them. Champion horse, he runs with a heart, does everything that we ask of him. I don’t know what happened last season, but today he sealed everyone’s mouths,” he said referring to The Blue Eye’s ninth place in the race’s 2017 edition.
Bentley had two third places and a second place yesterday before coming into the Silver Sword race for four-year-old Purebred Arabians. Two big wins and the Brit was understandably smiling.
“It was a little bit frustrating and disappointing with some of the previous races, but to get a win on this lad (The Blue Eye) is huge. I knew he had a massive chance. Course form holds big time. And we know he goes around here so well. To come here and bounce back and beat some really classy horses, winners from abroad; take nothing away from that,” he said.
Easter De Faust led a one-two for al-Kuwari and Ghazali with Jethjath finishing second behind Oisin Murphy, while Evolution Du Croate was a distant third under Tomas Lukasek.
Among the international runners, Al Rayyan Stakes topper Tip Two Win, trained by UK trainer Roger Teal, made his second successful trip to Qatar to win the Group 2 Al Biddah Mile handsomely, while jockey Martin Harley raced his third winner of the three-day festival with David O’Meara-trained Intisaab beating Ghazali’s Izzthatright for the Group 3 Dukhan Sprint.
Ibrahim al-Malki-trained Pazeer registered his second straight course and distance victory to win the 2000m HH The Emir’s Shalfa, a Thoroughbred handicap race, while Yousef Ben Taher’s in-form ward Molheb Al Naif stayed unbeaten for the sixth straight outing to capture the other Group 1 for Arabians, the Qatar International Cup.