By Chris Hoover/Doha
Umm Qarn owned Kalim Du Loup smashed the opposition in the Yousef Al Romaihi Cup quite easily, to give its trainer Alban de Mieulle his first win in this event as well as the fourth victory for the day. Kalim Du Loup though being asked to tackle the two mile trip, came up with a spirited run in the homestretch to win by one and a half length from Mu’Azzaz at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday.Though its rider Avranche had lost the whip at the top of the straight, the Mieulle trainee had enough class in him to pounce on the Al Shahania brigade of Mu’Azzaz, Agshar and Kaher in final stages of the race and win quite comfortably.“It feels nice to win this cup for the first time. This has been a good day with four winners and I am so happy for Umm Qarn. We almost had another winner but Fouladh failed by a whisker. I thought that the jockey made his move a little earlier than expected. But overall it has been a great day for us and I am pleased with the performance of our horses today,” trainer Mieulle told the Gulf Times.”“The pace of the race was pretty fast for a 3,200 metres race but Kalim Du Loup was up to the task on hand. He gave me a good kick in the last 400 metres and won very well. Though I had lost the whip in the straight, Kalim Du Loup came up with a good run in the final furlong,” jockey Avranche said.Earlier in the day, Mieulle led in three winners. Funoon (David Bouoland) who had shed her maiden status a fortnight ago, was fancied to win the 1,500 metres Pure Arabian Handicap (Div. I) but the task did not turn to be easy. Al Hadla put up stiff resistance but in the end, the Dahess progeny proved to be better.Frenchman Avranche had to use all the resources at his command to steer Qabas to a narrow victory in the Pure Arabian Handicap (Div. II) to give Mieulle his second success of the day.
Mieulle’s third winner came through Nasr (Avranche astride) when he came with a late dash to overhaul Noor’s Goldway in the dying moments of the Thoproughbred Handicap for horses rated 50 to 70. Noor’s Goldway (Lawson up) made the entire running till the final 50 metres at which point the race took a dramatic turn. Nasr who had raced in the rear group, quickly made ground in the straight on the wide outside and overhauled the front runner in the shadow of the winning post to win in splendid fashion. Julian Smart schooled Laheeb Al Shahania came up with yet another brilliant performance to win the local bred Pure Arabian Stakes. Though Fouladh had established the lead, Laheeb Al Shahania (Pier Convertino up) came with a finishing burst of speed that saw him edge out Fouladh in virtually the last stride of the race. Hatta Diamond led all the way and then left the opposition stranded in the closing stages of the race to win as he pleased, the Thoroughbred Handicap which was open to Qatari jockeys and apprentices only. Fully Armed showed some spark while finishing second ahead of Colours Of Fall. Jockey Kamlesh Ram rode a perfect race on the winner.Hameed Sahool saddled Spoken who had finished third to Hunting Tartan in his last start, proved formidable in the Thoroughbred Handicap, a race for horses rated 85 and above. There were a few notable contenders in the fray, but the Sahool trainee proved overwhelmingly superior as Bouland had Spoken take charge in the final furlong and sped away from the rest to win as he pleased.
RESULTS1st race: Funoon (David Bouland) 1, Al Hadla 2, Ajeeb 3, Al Bouraq 4. Won by: 1, 1 ¾, Hd. Time: 1:38.85. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Patrice Nicolet2nd race: Qabas (Gerard Avranche) 1, Ziraya 2, Jamra 3, Jihad 4. Won by: Shd, Hd, Nk. Time: 1:39.88. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn3rd race: Hatta Diamond (Kamlesh Ram) 1, Fully Armed 2, Colours Of Fall 3, Dontbugthebunny 4. Won by: 3 ½, 1 ¾, Hd. Time: 1:36.06. Trained by: Jabor al-Ramzani. Owned by: Hamad bin Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Attiya 4th race: Nasr (Gerard Avranche) 1, Noor’s Goldway 2, Atlas Shrugged 3, Salt Man 4. Won by: ½, 1, ¾. Time: 2:03.04. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn 5th race: Spoken (David Bouland) 1, Al Muthanaa 2, Audemar 3, Flying Destination 4. Won by: 2 ½, Nk, Hd. Time: 1:20.32. Trained by: Hameed Sahool. Owned by: Injaaz Stud 6th race: Laheeb Al Shahania (Pier Convertino) 1, Fouladh 2, Insaf 3, Al Adaid 4. Won by: Hd, 1 ½, 1. Time: 1:28.55. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani7th race: Kalim Du Loup (Gerard Avranche) 1, Mu’Azzaz 2, Agshar 3, Kaher 4. Won by: 1 ¾, Shd, ½. Time: 1:37.32. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn