Avranche rides Ladyanne to Oaks Trial Cup victory

By Chris Hoover/Doha

Jassim al-Ghazali trained Ladyanne necked out Mud Hilah in an absorbing finish of the 1,850 metres Oaks Trial for Thoroughbreds, the feature event of yesterday’s races at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club whic was held under the the patronage of HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Nasser bin Faleh al-Thani. Jockey Gerald Avranche rode  a well juded race on the winner.

Alban de Mieulle trained Farraaha won the battle of equals by putting to shade Qatar Arabian World Cup winner Mkeefa in the closing strides of the race to win the Group III oaks Trial for Pure Arabians, which was the other added attraction of the day.

Mohammed Khalid trained Artic Rose proved too good in the hands of Qatari jockey Yousef al-Hajri and sped away from the opposition inside the final two furlongs to win the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate quite capably. The four-year-old bay filly looks a good type and should be a force to reckon with in her next outing.

Ahmed Kosbeissi schooled Dahani had to be driven out by jockey Salim Golam to contain the challenge of Kinetic who put up a dogged resistance before succumbing in the shadow of the winning post in the 1,200 metres Pure Arabian Maiden Plate. Daharll was denied a clear run at the top of the straight and Golam had to react swiftly and get the progeny of Dahess going by switching her closer to the rails. The filly took a while to pick up speed and managed to overhaul the front runner in the final stages of the race. Though the filly recorded a hard fought victory, step up in distance may see her perform better.

Al Shahania Stud’s Thawi completed a hat-trick of wins when easily winning the local bred Pure Arabian Handicap, a race for horses rated 40 and below. Thawi (Yanis Aouabed astride) who had made swift progress from the rear approaching the final bend, quickened nicely to go sailing clear of the front running Al Bouraq to record a comfortable win. Zallal ran on from behind to finish second ahead of longtime leader Al Bouraq.

Though making his first appearance on the track this season, Nashmi (Amer-Danie Du Cassou) had enough class to win the Pure Arabian Restricted Stakes in a thrilling four horse finish. The Alban de Mieulle trained Nashmi was ridden capably by Frenchman David Bouland who pounced on the front runners with a smooth run.

Results: 1st race:  Dahani (Salim Golam) 1, Kinetic 2, Shafihah 3, Aziz Al Shahania 4. Won by: ½, 1 ¼, ½. Time: 1:20.88. Trained by: Ahmed Kobeissi. Owned by: Mohammed Kazim Al Ansari and Sons

2nd race: Artic Rose (Yousef al-Hajri) 1, Hello Dubai 2, Al Jahaniya 3, Anabedweyah 4. Won by: 2 ½, 1 ¾, Nk. Time: 1:13.57. Trained by: Mohammed Khalid. Owned by: Saous Abdulatif Saad al-Muslimani.

3rd race: Thawi (Yanis Auoabed) 1, Zallal 2, Al Bouraq 3, Khabbab 4. Won by: 1 ¼, ½, Nk. Time: 1:43.15. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Al Shahania Stud

4th race: Nashmi (David Bouland) 1, Bin Amer 2, Tuyoorna 3, Gayth 4. Won by: Nk, ½, ½. Time: 1:32.20. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn

5th race: Collect Art (Gerald Avranche) 1, Hestian 2, Footloose Man 3, One Cool Bex 4. Won by: Nk, 1 ½, Shd. Time: 1:06.26. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Ms Haya Mohammed Abdullah

6th race: Farraaha (David Bouland) 1, Mkeefa 2, Al Afreata 3, La Maha 4. Won by: Hd, Distance, Distance. Time: 2:07.23. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn

7th race: Ladyanne (Gerald Avranche) 1, Mud Hilah 2, Huaca Lay 3, Watanee 4. Won by: Nk, Nk, 1 ¼. Time: 1:57.64. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Mohammed Abdulaziz al-Badi