Ladjadj rides Gojeri to Sealine Cup victory

By Chris Hoover/Doha

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mishal bin Hamad al-Thani owned Gojeri came with a sustained gallop in the last 150 metres to wrap up the Sealine Trophy, a Thoroughbreds Conditions race, which featured the day’s card yesterday at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club.

Itsher found herself in front and she set a steady pace for the 1,200m trip. Johnny Hancocks was in second with My Sharona right up with the pace. Gojeri settled down the tightly packed field, biding his time, but never too far from the leaders.

Johnny Hancocks entered the straight with a slender lead with Itsher tagging along. My Sharona made his move from the outside. Gojeri picked up momentum along the rails and arrived with a blazing gallop. He collared Johnny Hancocks approaching the distance post and jockey Stephane Ladjadj packed a punch in driving Gojeri ahead using the whalebone sparingly as the Jassim al-Ghazali trainee galloped away fluently to keep Johnny Hancocks at bay. My Sharona ended a close third to give trainer Ghazali the top three spots in the race.

“I had three horses in the race which could win the Cup and I am glad that they finished in the top three. Gojeri put in a gallant display to win this race and I am very happy with his performance. My Sharona and Johnny Hancocks also were good but it was Gojeri’s day,” trainer Ghazali told the Gulf Times.

“I am thankful to trainer Ghazali for having given me this ride.  I had a lovely race as my horse was travelling well. Thinking Itsher would be the danger, I was racing close behind her. After noticing that she was shortening her strides, I decided to take off and Gojeri was upto the task on hand. He is a lovely horse,” jockey Ladjadj said. 

Abdulaziz al-Qaithri’s Elkhart, which recorded his first career win, easily outclassed the opposition in the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 55 to 75. Jockey Marco Monteriso settled the four-year-old bay colt well to track the early leader Dartford. With a furlong left from the finish Elkhart moved forward to take over the lead fluently and spared over seven lengths at the wire. One More Roman rallied along the rails to take the second place from Late Debate.

Jassim al-Ghazali’s Tuyoorna was a runaway winner of the local bred Pure Arabian Handicap for horses rated 40 to 70. Jockey Alberto Sanna took Al Wasmiya to the front and set a strong pace till the bend. She was joined by Al Mostarsil in the middle and Tuyoorna on the outside, as they turned for home. With Tuyoorna and Al Mostarsil getting stronger than her, Al Wasmiya was seemingly tired at that stage. She shortened her strides towards the inner rails and settled for the third spot. Tuyoorna with Frenchman Gerald Avranche on the saddle, had little problem in keeping Al Mostarsil at bay.

Zohair Moighsen trained Cloudwalker shed her maiden status in splendid fashion while decimating the field in the Thoroughbred Maiden Plate. The Hussain Ali Bukanan owned filly was taken to the front as the starter dispatched the field for the 1,200 metres trip. With Salim Golam on the saddle, Cloudwalker made every post a winning one as she stretched away from her 12 rivals to win as she pleased.  Brief Chat was a faraway second ahead of Princess Maya.

Mohamed Hussain schooled Zallal won the Pure Arabian Maiden Plate with a measure of comfort. Barzan Al Uraiq showed plenty of early speed to lead the field followed closely by Jesilk and Zallal. Jockey Declan Cannon got Zallal to get to a striking position behind the leader Barzan Al Uraiq as they rounded the turn and galloped strongly to surge forward midway up the straight. Once alerted to the task on hand, Zallal,  sporting the colours of Injaaz Stud, sped away to win by three and a half lengths.

In the day’s other action, Chewdeh (Ladjadj astride) from the stables of Rashid al-Malki scored an overwhelming win over her five opponents in the Thoroughbred Handicap, a six furlong race for horses rated 50 and below.

Qatari jockey Yousef al-Hajri rode a confident race on Badr al-Abid trained Star Deal in the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 65 to 85. Star Deal proved far too superior as he won very well in a start to finish bid. The manner of this victory suggests that he will be a force to reckon with when saddled next.Trainer Julian Smart opened his account for the season when Maseh (Richard Mullen up) won the Pure Arabian Conditions race, while warding off the threat of Thawi.

Results

1st race: Cloudwalker (Salim Golam) 1, Brief Chat 2m Princess Maya 3, Substantiate 4, Won by: 8, 6, 1 ½. Time: 1:11.57. Trained by: Zohair Moghsen. Owned by: Hussain Ali Bukanan

2nd race: Zallal (Declan Cannon) 1, Jesilk 2, Barzan Al Uraiq 3, Dareaat Al Naif 4. Won by: 3 ½, 2 ½, 2. Time: 1:21.93. Trained by: Mohammed Hussain. Owned by: Injaaz Stud

3rd race: Tuyoorna (Gerald Avranche) 1, Al Mostarsil 2, Al Wasmiya 3, Haizum 4. Won by: 5, Nk, 1 ½. Time: 1:21.16. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Al Ghazali Stud

4th race: Chewdeh (Stephane Ladjadj) 1, Safonic Sound 2, Applique 3, Dubai Tiger 4. Won by: 2, 1, Hd. Time: 1:13.80. Trained by: Rashid al-Malki al-Jehani. Owned by: Hassan Ahmed Hassan al-Malki al-Jehani

5th race: Elkhart (Marco Monteriso) 1, One More Roman 2, Late Debate 3, Poyle Judy 4. Won by: 7, 2 ½, 7. Time: 1:55.86. Trained by: Abdulaziz al-Qaithri. Owned by: Abdulaziz Ali al-Qaithri

6th race: Star Deal (Yousef al-Hajri) 1, Rule Maker 2, Exodus 3, Enjoy Today 4. Won by: 4, 3 ½, 5. Time: 1:55.78. Trained by: Badr al-Abid. Owned by: Al Jasra Stud

 7th race: Maseh (Richard Mullen) 1, Thawi 2, El Zouarda 3, Status Symboll 4. Won by: 1 ½, 9, 1 ½. Time: 2:09.69.Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: Al Shahania Stud

8th race: Gojeri (Stephane Ladjadj) 1, Johny Hancocks 2, My Sharona 3, Sea Odyssey 4. Won by: 1 ½, 1, 5. Time: 1”12.14. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Sheikh Abdullah bin Mishal bin Hamad al-Thani