Keel Bay gave owner Jassim bin Ali M A al-Attiyah and trainer Mohamed Ghazali a flying start to the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s season, winning the season’s first cup race at the Al Rayyan Racecourse on Wednesday. Under jockey Lukas Delozier, the four-year-old filly took the Al Ghariyah Cup, a 1,200m contest for three-year-old+ thoroughbred fillies & mares, in impressive passion by 1½ lengths. Bader Mohamed al-Darwish, QREC Acting CEO, presented the trophies to the winners.
In the penultimate race of the day, Hamad al-Jehani-trained Alhafar won the Purebred Arabian Handicap 70-90 (Class 3) race as jockey Arnaud de Lepine guided the six-year-old bay horse to beat Jean de Mieulle-trained Hazzam by 1.25 length.
The racing season is expected to be the best so far with increased prize money on offer throughout the calendar which will see a total of 69 race meetings – the same number as was in the previous season. It will culminate with the season finale to be held on April 25, 2024.
The Al Rayyan Racecourse will host a total of 47 meetings while Al Uqda turf and sand tracks will be home to 22 race days as five meetings have been added to the venue. This season’s much-anticipated HH The Amir Sword Festival will take place from February 15-17, 2024 with QREC recently announcing a further rise in prize money for the prestigious event recently.

WINNERS 1st Race Meeting - Al Ghariya Cup
(Horse, Trainer, Jockey)
1 - Al Ghariyah Cup - Thoroughbreds (Fillies & Mares) (Class 2)
Keel Bay, Mohamed Ghazali, Lukas Delozier
2 - Purebred Arabian Handicap 70-90 (Class 3)
Alhafar, Hamad al-Jehani, Arnaud de Lepine
3 - Thoroughbred Handicap 75-95 (Class 3)
Cei Connah, Deborah Amanda Clare Mountain, Pranil Arvind Kharat
4 - Purebred Arabian Novice Plate (Class 5)
Maguroor, Hamad al-Jehani, Szczepan Mazur
5 - Local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate (Class 6)
Conan Bu Thaila, Alanoud Khalifa al-Malki, Saleh Salem al-Marri
6 - Thoroughbred Maiden Plate (Class 6)
Account, Owaida Salem al-Hajri, Abdulla Rashid al-Hajri
7 - Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate (Fillies & Mares) (Class 6)
AJS Alkadriyah, Mohamed Salama Ashour, Rashid Ali al-Marri