Jockey Julien Auge rides Bint Jakkarta to victory in the Al Rayyan Cup at Deauville on August 16. The Al Shaqab Racing’s Bint Jakkarta is likely to go into the Qatar Arabian Trophy today. Right: Al Shaqab Racing PR and Media Director Nasser Sharida al-Kaabi.
HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani’s Bint Jakkarta will spearhead the Qatari challenge in the Qatar Arabian Trophy for Fillies, a Group I race for Pure Arabian Filles at the Saint Cloud racecourse in Paris today.
Sporting the colours of Al Shaqab Racing, Bint Jakkarta would look to extend her winning streak after having won the Group I Al Rayyan Cup at Deauville on August 16. The easy winner of the Shadwell Prix Razzia, Bint Jakkarta, took on the colts for the first time where Thomas Fourcy’s representative left her rivals no chance after making her move on turning into the straight. This was a splendid display and if she could reproduce that run, she will be the horse to beat in this Euros 100,000 contest.
Winning jockey Julien Auge had said: “It is always a pleasure to win a Group race in Deauville, especially with the best Purebred Arabians running here. It is a proof that Fourcy’s stable is in form. Bint Jakkarta is a good filly who made a good debut when third. She was a late bloomer and needed to learn. She showed her class in La Teste in the Shadwell Prix Razzia and has stepped up again now. She is one of the best three-year-old fillies this year.”
Bred in Qatar by Mubarak al-Naimi, Bint Jakkarta provided a success for Qatari breeding on French soil. She is a half-sister of Al Charif, the best three year old colt in 2009 and winner of the Qatar Total French Arabian Breeders Challenge in Saint Cloud in the hands of Thomas Fourcy.
“First of all let me say that we are glad to be here for an exciting weekend of racing. We have two great fillies in Al Fahda and Bint Jakkarta running in the Qatar Arabian Trophy at Saint Cloud tomorrow. Bint Jakkarta is a nice filly which is bred in Qatar. We hope that we can win this race to prove that she is one of the best Purebred Arabian fillies in the world. This will definitely will boost the image of Qatar as a world class breeding centre,” Al Shaqab Racing PR and Media Director Nasser Sharida al-Kaabi told the Gulf Times.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani, who had won this event in 2013 with Djainka Des Forges, has a lone entry in Radwah, while Hassan al-Matwi’s Mindza is the other contender from Qatar, hoping to reverse the verdict against Bint Jakkarta.
“We planned this year to come only with a few horses. Radwah has run three times in the UK this year. The first two times were over six furlongs which was way too sharp for her. She is a full sister to Qatar Arabian World Cup winner, Mkeefa and is very similar to Djainka Des Forges, who is a galloping filly who has no speed and turn of foot. Radwah will be asked to be taken to the front and ask the others to catch her if they can. This will be our strategy. She comes into this race as a maiden, but I like her for Doha.,” Al Shahania Stud trainer Julian Smart said.
Hassan al-Matwi’s Mindza started her career in blazing fashion with a hattrick of victories in the Pure Arabian Maiden Plate and the Club Breeders Trophy in Doha. This was followed by her maiden win in France in the Group I Qatar Coupe De France Des Chevaux Arabes and subsequently finished third to Bint Jakkarta In the Prix Nevada at Deauville. She would look to reverse that verdict when she takes the starters orders today.
Among the others in the fray are Arwaah, Zakkarya, Al Karama Monlau, Aurora Forta, Sylvine Al Maury, Colette and Biny des Foulettes.
The other added attraction of the day, the Qatar Total Arabian Trophy for Colts has attracted eight runners. Al Shahania Stud’s Wathah is the only Qatari challenger in the fray. He has a task on hand to complete a double for Qatar.