Hawa completes double with Crafted’s feature win

Jockey Adnan Hawa had already heard the announcement on the loudspeaker system coming into the winner’s enclosure at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) and was up on his two feet.The naked eye was unable to place the winner with Ibrahim al-Malki’s duo Crafted, Hawa’s mount, Beach Samba, ridden by Saleem Golam, and Mohamed Jassim Ghazali’s Itorio, Tadgh O’Shea astride, providing a thrilling finish to the Al Mamoura Cup, yesterday’s feature at the QREC turf track.The Class 2 Thoroughbred Handicap event for horses rated 105 & below saw Crafted follow the leaders early on in the seven-furlong run, before a steady run on the outside on the home stretch saw him alongside Itorio half-a-furlong away from the finish.Eventually, as the photos showed, he had beaten Itorio by a short head, while stablemate Beach Samba completed the frame.The win was Hawa’s second on the day, having earlier guided Al Ayyar to his first career victory.“It feels good, especially after the last three races where he didn’t really do well. His fitness had gone down, and I decided to give some rest and work on that,” al-Malki, who is fourth in the Trainers’ Championship, told Gulf Times after the race.“And the (one-month) rest seems to have done well for him, having won this feature. When races get this close, it does get edgy. Three horses were in the same line, and it was very difficult to differentiate with the naked eye. But in the end they announced Crafted as the winner, so well…”Pleiades kept his momentum going as the Galileo colt picked up his second straight victory and third straight finish in the frame this year.The Hamad bin Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah-owned five-year-old was held well in his first two runs in Qatar last year but has improved since moving yards this season, shifting from Jassim Ghazali to Wasim Mohamed.Yesterday, Pleiades, ridden by Gerald Avranche, stayed in the mix even as Qatari jockey Faleh Bughanaim had his mount Shabbab move into the lead early on in the 2000m race.Coming on to the home stretch, Avranche had Pleiades go forward on the outside before he came alongside Zuhair Mohsen-trained Shahbar, helmed by Marvin Suerland, up front. With a furlong to go, Pleiades began pulling away, eventually winning by three lengths.Shahbar held on to finish second ahead of Julian Smart’s Spirit of Qatar.Jockey Abdulla Faisal registered his first win of the season in Qatar when he rode Khalid al-Nuaimi-saddled Parkes and Ride to a memorable win in the Class 5 Thoroughbred Handicap event for horses rated 61-75.Coming off a wide start, Parkes and Ride stayed midfield even as Anas al-Seyabi had Papa Luigi move into the lead early on.The pace picked up and Papa Luigi seemed to be no match for the trio of Zuhair Mohsen’s Rijm, who moved ahead on the inside under Marvin Suerland, Ibrahim al-Malki-trained Zainat, ridden by Gerald Avranche, and Julian Smart-saddled pre-race favourite Ras Abrouq.A well-timed move by Faisal saw Parkes and Ride up the ante and the four-year-old gelding was past the competition for a fine win, ahead of Zainat and Rijm.In a scintillating finish Umm Qarn’s Samaa registered her third career victory, and second this season in Qatar, when the Majd Al Arab filly edged out Ghazali’s Caid de l’Ardus by half a length to win the Purebred Arabian Conditions event.Alban de Mieulle’s charge, ridden by Jean Baptiste Hamel, had tracked leader Caid de l’ardus, ridden by Richard Mullen in the colours of Khailfa bin Sheail al-Kuwari, for the bulk of the race before going alongside the latter a furlong from the finish.With 50m to go, Samaa found some reserves and edged ahead to win by half a length, while Alberto Sanna guided Al Jeryan Stud’s Majdan to third.This was the second straight win for the trio of Umm Qarn, De Mieulle and Hamel on the day with Waqaar shedding her maiden status in the mile-long Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate event.Earlier in the day, jockey Almotasem al-Balushi guided two horses to their first career wins, with Saab Al Manal, trained by Ghazali Junior, Mohamed, winning the Division 2 Local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate, and Taqarub, saddled by Ghazali Senior, taking the Division 2 Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate.In the other two Thoroughbred maiden runs, Adnan Hawa guided Majed Seifeddine-trained Al Ayyar to victory in the Local Thoroughbred Maiden Plate event, while Xavier Ziani helmed Al Hazam in a thrilling victory in the Class 6 Thoroughbred Maiden Plate. RESULTSRace 1: 1. Saab Al Manal (Almotasem al-Balushi), 2. Mister Lal (Saleem Golam), 3. Zurich Bu Thaila (Gerald Avranche), 4. Shatir Bu Thaila (Jean Baptiste Hamel). Won by: Nk, 1 ¼, 1 ¾. Time: 1:26.158. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Mohamed Jassim Ghazali.Race 2: 1. Al Ayyar (Adnan Hawa), 2. Queen Maouya (Rashid al-Marri), 3. Al Jazeera (Faleh Bughanaim), 4. Gharam Lehshiiyat (Richard Mullen). Won by: Nk, ½, 1. Time: 1:25.410. Owner: Rashid bin Mubarak al-Jafali al-Naimi. Trainer: Majed Seifeddine.Race 3: 1. Al Hazam (Xavier Ziani), 2. Draw Swords (Faleh Bughanaim), 3. Al Mikdam (Marvin Suerland), 4. King of Doha (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: Shd, 1 ¾, ¾. Time: 1:23.643. Owner: Salem Fadgam al-Hajri & Sons. Trainer: Salem al-Hajri.Race 4: 1. Taqarub (Almotasem al-Balushi), 2. Laith (Saleem Golam), 3. Al Raad (Kelly Harrison), 4. Shoug Al Sham (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: 7, 2, 12. Time: 1:47.039. Owner: Sheail bin Khalifa al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.Race 5: 1. Waqaar (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 2. Mohssn (Richard Mullen), 3. Djumana KB (Tomas Lukasek), 4. Sayyaaf (Gerald Avranche). Won by: 2, ¾, 1 ¼. Time: 1:46.332. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.Race 6: 1. Samaa (Jean Baptiste Hamel), 2. Caid de l’Ardus (Richard Mullen), 3. Majdan (Alberto Sanna), 4. Carab (Almotasem al-Balushi). Won by: ½, 3 ½, 1 ½. Time: 1:43.409. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.Race 7: 1. Parkes and Ride (Abdulla Faisal), 2. Zainat (Gerald Avranche), 3. Rijm (Marvin Suerland), 4. Ras Abrouq (Richard Mullen). Won by: Nk, Hd, ½. Time: 1:36.51. Owner: Khalid Nasser al-Nuaimi. Trainer: Khalid al-Nuaimi.Race 8: 1. Pleiades (Gerald Avranche), 2. Shahbar (Marvin Suerland), 3. Spirit of Qatar (Richard Mullen), 4. Elkhart (Abdulla Faisal). Won by: 3, ½, Nk. Time: 2:01.592. Owner: Hamad bin Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah. Trainer: Wasim Mohamed.Race 9: 1. Crafted (Adnan Hawa), 2. Itorio (Tadgh O’Shea), 3. Beach Samba (Saleem Golam), 4. Felix Leiter (Jean Baptiste Hamel). Won by: Shd, Hd, 1. Time: 1:21.202. Owner: Ibrahim Saeed al-Malki. Trainer: Ibrahim al-Malki.