The winners were crowned by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in the presence of dignitaries, officials and a large audience. In what is Qatar’s biggest race – the HH The Amir Sword – Qatari-owned Abbes cruised clear in the closing stages to win by two and a half lengths, to land the sword for the champion trainer Alban de Mieulle and jockey Mickael Barzalona and put the perfect finishing touches on a fantastic three days’ racing.
The $2,500,000 race over 2400m on turf was packed with top contenders in last year’s Amir Sword winner Lady Princess, Qatar international derby winner Moshrif and Nayef bin Saad bin Sharida al-Kaabi-owned First Class.
Moshrif came second, while Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown winner First Class came fourth and Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari-owned Lady Princess finished at the fifth position.
The penultimate race of the Festival, the Gr 1 HH The Amir Trophy saw the connections from Hong Kong land the spoils as Douglas Whyte-trained Russian Emperor got the better of a strong international challenge to take the biggest thoroughbred prize in Qatar by half a length under the talented Italian jockey Alberto Sanna.
Abdullah bin Fahad al-Attiyah’s Ska De L’Aigle was a good winner of the HH The Amir Silver Sword for four-year-old Purebred Arabians. The Francois Rohaut-trained colt cruised and when asked for an effort, he responded generously, staying on well to win the 1850m race by a length and a quarter, giving jockey Andrea Atzeni a second winner on the big day.
The HH The Amir Shalfa, a Thoroughbred Open Handicap (85 and Up) for four-year-old+ over 2000m, served up a finish to savour with several horses dashing towards the finish line, but Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s King Pacha was very game and pulled out extra to win by a quarter of a length for trainer Gassim Ghazali and jockey Mickael Barzalona.
There was an exciting battle to the finish in the Gr2 Al Rayyan Mile for three-year-old Thoroughbreds and it was the Al Wasmiyah Stud, G Bailey and N Wrigley-owned Alzahir who pulled out more for jockey Andrea Atzeni, seeing off his main rival Kerindia by a head for trainers John and Thady Gosden. Issa bin Mohamed al-Mohannadi, QREC Chairman, crowned the winners.
The Gr 3 Dukhan Sprint was won in good fashion by the Dale Dolan Dooley Owen-owned Flaming Rib, who proved the fastest in the field and gave trainer Hugo Palmer a winner on the day. Oisin Murphy rode the four-year-old colt to take the 1200m contest for thrre-year-old+ Thoroughbreds by three quarters of a length. Representing the International Racing Bureau, Adrian Beaumont crowned the winners.
The Gr 1 Qatar international Cup for four-year-old+ Purebred Arabians saw Al Jeryan Stud’s homebred AJS Saaeq prevail over a strong field. The M.H.K. al-Attiyah-trained five-year-old emerged victorious by two lengths under jockey Szczepan Mazur in the 1600m race. Hassan Yousef al-Obaidly, Head of Programme’s Research and Evaluation Section of the Social & Sport Contribution Fund (Daam), crowned the winners.
Kicking off the biggest meeting of the year, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Order of Australia won the QA Gr2 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup nicely for owners D Smith, J Magnier, M Tabor and AM O’Brien. The Irish raider was given a brilliant ride by jockey Ryan Moore to win the 1600m contest for four-year-old+ Thoroughbreds by half a length. Charles O’Neill, CEO of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM), crowned the winners.
Results
HH The Amir Sword Festival34th Race Meeting - HH The Amir Sword & Trophy
(Horse, Trainer, Jockey)
1 - HH The Amir Sword (Gr1 Pa) - Purebred Arabian (3rd Leg Of The Triple Crown)
Abbes, Alban Elie De Mieulle, Mickael Barzalona
2 - HH The Amir Trophy (Qa Gr1) - Thoroughbreds (Class 1)
Russian Emperor, Douglas Whyte, Alberto Sanna
3 - HH The Amir Silver Sword - Purebred Arabians (4yo Only)
Ska De L’Aigle, Francois Rohaut, Andrea Atzeni
4 - HH The Amir Shalfa - Thoroughbred Open Handicap (Class 2)
King Pacha, Gassim Ghazali, Mickael Barzalona
5 - Al Rayyan Mile (3yo Only) (Qa Gr2) - Thoroughbreds (Class 1)
Alzahir, John and Thady Gosden, Andrea Atzeni
6 - Dukhan Sprint (Qa Gr3) - Thoroughbreds (Class 1)
Flaming Rib, Hugo Palmer, Oisin Murphy
7 - Qatar International Cup (Gr1 Pa) - Purebred Arabians
AJS Saaeq, MHK al-Attiyah, Szczepan Mazur
8 - Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup (Qa Gr2) - Thoroughbreds (Class 1)
Order of Australia, Aidan O’Brien, Ryan Moore
