Aouabed rides Majd Al Arab to great win in feature event

By Chris Hoover/Doha

Majd Al Uraiq (Majd Al Arab-Mezooh) owned by Hassan Ali Hassan al-Matwi, had to extract every ounce of his energy and speed to stay ahead after he went into the lead in the straight while keeping at bay the spirited challenge of Umm Qarn’s Bahjah to win the Al Busayyir Cup, a race for four-year-old local Pure Arabians, which featured the races at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday.

AJS Qahir and Maksab led the field until the straight with Kaydoum and Majd Al Arab in tow. Jockey Yanis Aouabed astride Majd Al Arab was quick to make headway and easily went past AJS Qahir but had Kaydoum  asking questions.

This pair were responding well and of the two, Majd Al Arab was clearly travelling better. Bahjah warmed up midway in the straight and started to gain heavily. Even though Majd Al Arab had built what looked a comfortable lead and still had the momentum going, Bahjah put in a very fast gallop and all but snatched the verdict. She fell short by a shorthead.

“Though the 1,850 metres trip was not to his liking, Majd Al Arab did well to win this race. This is the second cup race in two weeks for him and I am very happy with his performance. There were a few good horses in the race, but Majd Al Arab was upto the task. We will run him again next week and hope his winning sequence continues,” owner and trainer Hassan al-Matwi told the Gulf Times.

“I must thank the trainer for giving me the opportunity to ride Majd Al Uraiq. I was a bit worried in the final stages of the race when Bahjah came along but Majd Al Uraiq was simply superb today. The trick was to wait till the last furlong before letting him go. Though Bahjah threatened to take over, my horse was not giving up after a couple of cracks with the whip. He is a fine horse and I am glad that I got to ride the winner,” jockey Aouabed said.

Trainer and owner Hassan Ali Hassan al-Matwi leads in Majd Al Uraiq (Yanis Aouabed astride) after winning the Al Busayyir Cup at the QREC yesterday.

Mansoor Ibrahim al-Mahmood owned Roman Legend won the Marmi Cup, a three years old race for Thoroughbreds, a lot easier than expected.

He sailed past Peter Mac in the straight to romp home a clear winner. Peter Mac led them all the way into the straight and when it mattered most, failed to capitalise on the handy lead that he enjoyed turning for home. 

Harry Bentley had Roman Legend in third spot and made his move at the turn. He went past Black Treacle to join Peter Mac soon on turn. Roman Legend was fresh and raring to go once into the straight and showed tremendous acceleration to bound forward and win drawing away. This was his second victory this season and he certainly looked comfortable going over the mile trip. In the kind of form he is in, Roman Legend could add another victory to his tally. 

Yousef Bentaher trained Belhambar, ably ridden by Marvin Suerland, could not have timed his run better and managed to dampen the winning aspirations of Jumaira Tower, who until the last stride looked menacing.

After racing a handy third till the home turn, Belhambar quickly took charge of the proceedings and established a sizeable lead. Jumaire Tower was alighted to the task on hand in the final 100 metres and came with giant strides to challenge the front runner. However, Belhambar was unrelenting and went on to clinch the Thoroughbred Maiden Cup by a shorthead.

Injaaz Stud’s Fast opened her account in style, winning the three years old Thoroughbred Fillies Al Aamriah Cup, thus enjoying the sweet taste of victory in her eighth attempt. Jockey Aouabed settled her behind leader Cloaked who galloped at a quick pace. Marti’s Girl was a close third and City Zen was not too far behind.

Cloaked kicked on in the straight, but was soon challenged by Fast. City Zen too was right behind these two but Cloaked simply could not quicken. Fast and City Zen fought it out among themselves and in the dying moments, Fast seized the upper hand and stretched ahead to post her maiden victory.

Jassim al-Ghazali schooled My Sharona dominated her five rivals in the straight to draw away in the final furlong and clinch the Fillies and Mares Conditions race in emphatic fashion. Sitting third on settling down, My Sharona was fighting to break free early on as jockey Stephane Ladjadj had to put in an effort to hold her in check.

Once they entered the homestretch, My Sharona was quick to take charge, still on a tight rein. While the others were struggling to match strides, the Ghazali trainee was clear by then and marching on to score her fourth career victory.

Mohanad al-Yaqout saddled Aseer recoded an encore while clinching the Al Bushayariya Cup, a race for four year old local Thoroughbreds. Jockey Darren Williams piloted Aseer to a pillar to post victory over the 1,600 metres trip. The four-year-old bay colt settled nicely in front ahead of stable mate Aspire. Aseer came into the home straight well ahead of Aspire and stretched out comfortably to win by a widening margin of three lengths. Zahrah finished second while Aspire was third many lengths behind.