Al Shaqab Racing’s Khataab won his second Group with very little apparent effort in the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan (Prix de Carthage – Hannibal) (Gr2 PA) in Toulouse on Friday.
The race was led by Prada T and Thabit, who were closely tracked by the eventual winner and Mehdaaf Athbah (Amer).
Turning into the straight, jockey Jerome Cabre began to ask Khataab to go on. Once he found his balance, coming up the middle of the track, he pulled clear. He crossed the line on his seasonal debut with two lengths in hand. Mehdaaf Athbah took second. Another Al Shaqab-owned horse, Meblsh, was third.
Coming into the Prix de Carthage, Khataab had never won so easily. Successively a close third in the Qatar Derby for four-year-old Arabians (Gr1 PA), then in the President of the UAE Cup – UK Arabian Derby (Gr1 PA), Khataab won his first Group at the end of October 2016 in the French Arabian Breeders’ Challenge – Classic (Gr2 PA) at Toulouse.
After his second victory at this level on Friday, trainer Thomas Fourcy said, “In the past I had some difficulty getting him properly in form. For the moment, he seems to be really well. He’s a horse that will improve with age. He came up the straight well, which was nice to see as he previously had a tendency to pull himself up once he hit the front. It’s encouraging for the rest of the year.”
Al Shaqab Racing’s had also won the 2015 edition of the race with Al Mouwaffak.