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| CUP OF JOY: QREC board member Saeed Shafi al-Shafi (right) presents Al Gharafa Cup to Ali bin Abdulatif al-Misnad after Hunting Tartan had won the feature event at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. PICTURES: Juhaim |
Ali bin Abdulatif al-Misnad owned Hunting Tartan came up with yet another stellar performance to win the 1,600 metres Al Gharafa Cup, a race for Thoroughbreds rated 85 and above which featured yesterday’s races at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club. The Jassim al-Ghazali trainee was driven out for a thrilling win by jockey Stephane Ladjadj who rode the horse with greater understanding.
Making his Qatar debut, Sea Odyssey did the job of the pace setter closely followed by the rest. Hunting Tartan was raced in mid bunch. Rounding the final turn, Al Muthanaa had the first run on his opponents even as Ladjadj set alight Hunting Tartan. Al Muthanaa picked up speed to surge ahead with a furlong out.
Ladyanne too showed up prominently but it was Hunting Tartan who poked through an opening in the middle and edged out his stable mate to record his third straight victory. Flying Destination who was toiling at the rear of the field for most part, covered lot of ground to take the fourth position.
“I am very happy with this victory. He is a wonderful horse who has been pretty consistent since last year. This has been a very good investment and the government of Qatar has supported the owners in many ways. This encourages the owners to buy more top class horses. This is our traditional sport and I would encourage other owners to come forward and invest in horse racing,” Ali bin Abdulatif al-Misnad told the Gulf Times.
Jockey Ladjadj was also pleased with the performance of Hunting Tartan. “He has already given me three winners this season and I would say that he is the best miler here. It was not easy today but Hunting Tartan was simply amazing. He was giving weight to everybody but still managed to beat a top class field which was equal to a Group I.”
Alban de Mieulle trained Muntasar (Majd Al Arab-Mashaael) made a winning debut when coming up with a spirited run and overhauling Tuyoorna in the 1,850 metres local bred Pure Arabian Maiden Plate.
Tuyoorna led all the way except at the post. The Umm Qarn bred Muntasar (David Bouland astride) who is the first crop out of Majd Al Arab has indeed established his credentials with this splendid victory. It would be interesting to see how he progresses.
Trainer Mieulle was mighty pleased with the victory of Muntasar. “This is a tremendous victory for Muntasar who is the first crop of Majd Al Arab. We are very pleased with the manner of his victory and it points to the quality of our stallion. He won very easy and should improve further.”
Last two outings winner Funoon once again proved formidable in the Pure Arabian Handicap, a race for horses rated 35 to 60, which was open to Qatari jockeys and apprentices only.
The Mieulle trainee proved overwhelmingly superior as Qatari jockey Yousef al-Hajri had Funoon in a handy third position and once alerted to the task on hand, the Dahess progeny sped away from the rest to win quite comfortably.
Dr Mohammed Rashid al-Ardhi al-Marri owned Al Mazrooah just about managed to hold on to the lead he had opened up early on the race and won from late rallying Al Adeed. Arnaud Bouleau gave a perfect ride on the winner.
Jockey Darren Williams who has been riding with amazing success this season is on the verge of creating a new mark for the number of wins. He ended the 44th day`s action, booting home two winners, taking his tally to a whopping 46.
The talented saddle artist started off the day’s proceeding with a back to back double through Shaklan and Fully Armed.
Shafihah (Bouland up) made the entire running with Shaklan in hot pursuit but the former weakened inside the final 100 metres. Williams was able to drive out the Julian Smart saddled Shaklan to stretch out in the final stages of the race and record a comfortable win in the local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate.
With a power packed finish from Williams, Ahmed al-Jehani schooled Fully Armed came with a strong run in the final 50 metres to overhaul Indian Narjes and Marcus Augustus to win the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate in an exciting finish.
Jassim al-Ghazali trained Zakon proved superior to the field in the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 60 to 80. The progeny of Ivan Denisovich collared Moonbeam Dancer inside the final furlong and sped off for an easy win.