By Chris Hoover/Doha
Jassim al-Ghazali trained Brittany brooked no opposition en route to winning the Group II Thoroughbred Derby Trial, the main event of the races held at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. Under the able riding of Dutchman Adrie de Vries, Brittany put some noteworthy contenders firmly in their place by coming home in splendid fashion. Jockey Adrie had Brittany settled in mid bunch as stable mate Vetvey set a scorching pace. As the race took a serious turn, Brittany was alerted to the task on hand. His response was immediate and he pounced on Vetvey in a flash and sped away to win quite comfortably. The manner of this victory suggests that Brittany will go into Derby as one of the favourites. Julian Smart trained Mkeefa (Daryl Holland astride) proved too good when winning the Group II local bred Pure Arabian Derby Trial from Al Uraiq. Mkeefa (Amer-Nisaee), a full sister to the formidable Nimr, was a fluent first start winner and justified the expectation, winning with a measure of comfort. Al Uraiq was very much in contention but buckled close home, unable to thwart the challenge of Mkeefa who came with a ground devouring run in the final stages of the race. In course of time, Mkeefa should make her mark in the classics.“”She is a very nice filly who is well bred. She won in impressive fashion last time out over a distance which was too short and we were confident that she would run a good race today. Al Uraiq and Darren Williams had almost stolen the race from us but Mkeefa put in a fine display to win here. She has a bright future and will be a strong contender for the Derby,” trainer Smart told the Gulf Times. “It is very special to win here and Mkeefa was brilliant today as she travelled very well and got up in time to beat Al Uraiq. She should improve further and will be a force to reckon with,” jockey Holland said.Darren Williams rode a splendid race on Al Mujahez to guide the George Mikhalides ward to an exciting victory in the local bred Pure Arabian Derby Trial for four-year-olds. The power packed riding by Williams enabled Al Mujahez to overhaul Tayel (Adrie de Vries astride) who had assumed command and looked set to land the spoils in the QR 125,000 event. Williams completed a back to back double with a hard fought victory in the Group II Pure Arabian Derby Trial. Williams astride the Julian Smart schooled Maseh had to use all the resources at his command to stave off the challenge of stable mate Harran who was gaining ground with each stride.Yousef Bentaher’s Al Naif Silver Ghost asserted himself in the local bred Pure Arabian Derby Trial for three-year-olds. Al Naif Silver Ghost who had run an impressive fourth in only his second appearance this season, had the breeding to get the 1,850 metres trip effectively and he did so with a brilliant ride from David Badel. Al Mazrooah (David Bouland up) set a fast pace as the starter dispatched the field from the gates, with Al Naif Silver Ghost handily placed in the fourth position behind Al Mansoor and El Helwah. Al Mansoor shortened his strides as the field took the final bend allowing Al Mazrooah and the Yousef trainee to take centre stage but the former failed to sustain the effort and Al Naif Silver Ghost went away for a comfortable win. Earlier, trainer Ghazali had a runaway winner in Granary. The seven-year-old bay mare who was tuned up to strike in this race, left the field for ‘dead’ in the final furlong to justify the strong faith imposed on her by her connections. Miss Faustina hit the front from the word go with Granary hot on her heels. Once the race was on the boil, jockey Gerard Avranche alerted the Ghazali trainee to the task on hand and Granary was quick to pounce on the leader and stretched away to win as she pleased and record her 25th win in 34 starts.
Results: 1st race: Granary (Gerard Avranche) 1, Footloose Man 2, Al Muthanna 3, Baraari 4. Won by: 3 ½, ¾, 3. Time: 1:11.08. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Mishal bin Ali al-Attiya2nd race: Al Naif Silver Ghost (David Badel) 1, Al Mazrooah 2, Al Adeed 3, Al Mansoor 4. Won by: ¾, 3, Nk. Time: 2:06.33. Trained by: Yousef Bentaher. Owned by: Sheikh Nasser bin Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani3rd race: Mkeefa (Daryly Holland) 1, Al Uraiq 2, Al Majd 3, Al Afreata 4. Won by: ¾, 6, 1 ½. Time: 1:31.70. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani4th race: Al Mujahez (Darren Williams) 1, Tayel 2, Insaf 3, Al Muntaser 4. Won by: ½, 1 ¼, 3. Time: 2:06.81. Trained by: George Mikhalides. Owned by: Sheikh Hamad bin Mishal bin Hamad al-Thani 5th race: Maseh (Darren Williams) 1, Harran 2, Dharr 3, Akhtab Al Naif 4. Won by: Nk, 3 ½, 7. Time: 2:09.07. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: Al Shahania Stud 6th race: Brittany (Adrie de Vries) 1, Vetvey 2, Ladyanne 3, Sydney Harbour 4. Won by: 2, 1 ¾, Hd. Time: 1:55.59. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Ali bin Abdullah bin Ali Khalifa al-Attiyah