Loraa wins Qatar Total Arabian Trophy in Paris

Managing Director at Total E&P Qatar Guillaume Chalmin (third left) presented the trophy to connections of Loraa, which won the Qatar Total Arabian Trophy at the Longchamp racecourse in Paris yesterday. PICTURES: Juhaim

By Chris Hoover/Paris

Loraa started favourite and she brilliantly imposed herself on the race. The mare had been slow to respond to the urgings of Christophe Soumillon about 300 metres from the line but after this hesitation she recovered to win with a flash of class. The filly from the stable of Jean-François Bernard confirmed her excellent start to the season. In seven starts she has notched up five wins and two places. This is her fourth win at Group level.

Aden, representing HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani, was not able to get up for the win. She finished in third place. Taraf, sporting the colours of Al Shahania Stud, was not fancied before the race but she showed a different side to her this afternoon and finished in second place and looks promising.

Sahabba finished in fourth place which was gained while coming from behind and it is no mean feat to achieve this at Longchamp.

Following on from her fifth place in the Prix de Pomone at Deauville, the Spanish four years old Friné joined the yard of Carlos Laffon-Parias, whilst remaining in the ownership of the Duke of Albuquerque. Her speed did wonders for her in the Qatar Prix de Royallieu. Racing mostly in last position, she passed the whole field in the last 200 metres of the race. Her new trainer explained after the race: “I merely continued the work of her previous trainer. Unlike in the Prix de Pomone, Friné had a dream run through the race today. She had come to my yard with the plan to run in the Qatar Prix Vermeille. But after giving it some thought we decided to keep her fresh for the Qatar Prix de Royallieu.”

The two favourites, Mayhem and Zarshana, were placed in second and third respectively, close behind the winner.

Solow had already impressed this summer in Deauville, when he pulverised the opposition in the Prix Quincey Lucien Barrière (Gr3). The grey from the stable of the Wertheimer & Frère then reached another level by adding the Qatar Prix Daniel Wildenstein (Gr2). Despite this, Solow found himself fairly far back in the field. He was left with a lot of ground to make up in the straight, which is never easy to do on quick ground at Longchamp. But once Olivier Peslier moved out from behind La Hoguette, Solow produced an impressive turn of foot which gave no chance to Veda, who made an excellent comeback, and Sommerabend, had nothing more to give in the straight after doing most of the work at the front of the field.

Solow has been a revelation this year, after Freddy Head decided to drop him back in trip after castrating him at the end of his three years’s career. Trainer Head said, “The race did not happen as I expected. This is a horse that used to have to be held up but once I dropped him back in trip he was able to travel closer to the front. Olivier rode him perfectly. It takes a very good horse to do what he did. Hopefully he can repeat this in his future races. He was very relaxed before the race and we can now think of travelling with him, especially if we can arrive a week ahead of the race. Hong Kong would be a possibility for him. He will stay in training next year.”

Already the winner of the Prix de Lutèce (Gr3), Auvray (Le Havre) has now won the Qatar Prix Chaudenay (Gr2). This makes him the top three years old stayer in France. After travelling well in fifth place along the rail, he made his run for the line and put every effort in to gain the upper hand. Auvray is a son of Le Havre who is capable of siring winners at every age and over every distance.

Le Havre stands at stud in Haras de la Cauvinière. Representing Gérard Augustin-Normand, the owner of Auvray, Sylvain Vidal confided to us: “His jockey Grégory Benoist rode a really nice race. He was right to hold him up and wait with him, especially because of his pedigree. We are obviously delighted for Le Havre,”

Second place went to Vent de Force (Hurricane Run), who battled out in the finish to hold off Baino Hope (Jeremy), the best of the fillies, who gave a very good performance in third.