Trainer-jockey combination of Jassim al-Ghazali and Marco Casamento celebrated a treble on the first day of the HH The Amir Sword Festival at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s Al Rayyan Racecourse Wednesday.Al-Ghazali-Casamento pair won the Purebred Arabian Open Handicap Cup with Hadi De Carrere, in the colours of Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohamed bin Faleh al-Thani, Wednesday to complete the hat-trick of wins.**media[415950]**Hadi De Carrere underlined his class in emphatic fashion in the 1900m race, with a second straight winner from three starts this season. The nine-year-old bay horse travelled comfortably in a handy position throughout, poised to strike. Once set alight in the home straight, he surged clear and was never threatened, powering away inside the final 250m to register a resounding 13-length victory.Last Saturday, Hadi De Carrere claimed the Ain Sinan Cup with an impressive victory in the Purebred Arabian Open Race under the supervision of Casamento at the Al Uqda Racecourse.In the penultimate race of the day, the pair guided Khalid Nasser al-Attiya’s Loaded Gun to victory in the Thoroughbred Handicap Cup (85-105) race for the four-year-old+.In the 2500m race, where stamina came to the fore, Loaded Gun added further substance to his season. The five-year-old bay gelding recorded his fourth victory of the campaign, anchored towards the rear before circling the field approaching the home turn. Once asked to lengthen in the straight, he responded immediately, kicking clear and then holding on gamely from his only serious challenger to prevail by ¾ of a length.In the card opener, al-Ghazali and Casamento were in the winners’ enclosure when Mansoor bin Ebrahim al-Mahmoud-owned Jungle Monarch made a striking Qatar debut by winning the Thoroughbred Maiden Cup for three-year-old.In the 1200m contest, Jungle Monarch, bounded straight to the lead in a race dominated by speed and never seeing a rival, stretching clear in the closing stages to score comfortably by 2½ lengths and give the trainer-jockey a flying start in the festival curtain raiser.Sweet Fantastic also produced a performance of authority Wednesday by clinching the Thoroughbred Handicap Cup (70-90) contest for three-year-old+. The four-year-old raced prominently within striking distance throughout in the 1200m contest. Set alight on straightening, he lengthened powerfully inside the final 200m, stretching further clear with every stride to settle matters by 5¾ lengths. The gelding was trained by Hamad al-Jehani and was ridden by Szczepan Mazur, who completed a double on the day. RESULTS48th HH The Amir Sword Festival - Day 1WINNERS: (Horse, Trainer, Jockey) Purebred Arabian Open Handicap CupHadi De Carrere, Jassim al-Ghazali, Marco Casamento Thoroughbred Handicap Cup (85-105)Loaded Gun, Jassim al-Ghazali, Marco Casamento Thoroughbred Handicap Cup (70-90)Sweet Fantastic, Hamad al-Jehani, Szczepan Mazur Purebred Arabian Handicap Cup (0-70)Dukhan Alseej, Jassim Hamad al-Atteya, Hamza Laglaoui Thoroughbred Novice Cup, 4yo+Waajidd, Zuhair Mohsen, Szczepan Mazur Purebred Arabian Novice CupAl Natibis Up, Eng. Osama Omer al-Dafea, Pierre Charles Boudot Thoroughbred Maiden CupJungle Monarch, Jassim al-Ghazali, Marco Casamento

Mikaela Shiffrin said there were no excuses for a disappointing slalom run that cost her a medal in Tuesday's team combined, insisting she would learn her lesson ahead of her individual events.The US ski star was set up for a serious tilt at combined gold by a table-topping downhill time from her partner Breezy Johnson.But the most successful skier of all time - with a record 108 World Cup victories to her name - could only manage the 15th fastest time in the afternoon's slalom.Her run was a full second slower than the fastest, that of Germany's silver medallist Emma Aicher, and left her and Johnson fourth, outside the medal places."I'm careful not to make excuses but it comes from a lot of different variables," Shiffrin told reporters after the race won by the unfancied second-ranked Austrian pair of Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber."It is a sport of fine margins and a lot of variables. This kind of thing happens more often than not in training where it's like I don't quite feel comfortable enough and there's a certain amount of luck when it goes right."But there's also a feeling that I'm going to work to achieve for the slalom race coming up."Shiffrin came into the Milan-Cortina Games heavy favourite not just for the team combined but also for the slalom, the last event on the alpine skiing schedule next week.Her form in the World Cup this season, with seven wins from eight slalom races, suggested that she was set to banish memories of the last Winter Olympics in Beijing where she failed to win a single medal.But Shiffrin, who previously won two Olympic golds (2014 slalom, 2018 giant slalom) and a silver (2018 combined), said that she wasn't comfortable in the warm conditions which provided a much softer piste than for the downhill leg of the event on Tuesday morning."It's the first time that we've seen any conditions like that this season and I didn't adjust to it, not yet, but that was a great opportunity to learn," she said."What I wish is that Breezy could walk away with the medal."Shiffrin's stuttering descent allowed her compatriots Jacqueline Wiles and Paula Moltzan to claim bronze just as it looked like they would drop down to fourth.Wiles finished fourth in the downhill final on Sunday and was fourth fastest again on Tuesday, as was Moltzan in the slalom run."This sport is incredible, there are a lot of emotions on both sides when you have good days and bad days," said Wiles."I was lucky, Paula said some really nice words to pick me up (on Sunday), everyone was super supportive."