Even as his horse, Yazeed, did not win the Qatar Arabian World Cup, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani congratulated the winner’s connections on the final day of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting at Longchamp in Paris on Sunday.
“This race saw a surprise, which no one expected at all. It was a tough race in general and the winner, Fazza Al Khalediah, won the title deservedly. In fact, he gave a wonderful performance and I congratulate his owners for his class and ability to win the Qatar Arabian World Cup,” Sheikh Abdullah said.
“We should take into consideration the ground at Longchamp, which was affected by the rain today. In horse racing, each race has its own circumstances. Yazeed was a favourite, especially as he was at his best and had won the trial race three weeks ago, but soft ground did not help him give his usual performance.”
Talking about the Qatar’s continued partnership with the iconic racing event, he said, “Qatar’s sponsorship of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe started in 2008 and will continue till 2022. The renewal of the partnership is under consideration, given the huge global reputation of the event, which comes with plenty of strength and thrill year after year.
“In addition, dozens of thousands of race-goers attend the races at Longchamp along with the TV broadcasting to nearly 100 countries, giving access to at least a billion viewers worldwide. I think Qatar’s decision to sponsor this event has been a right one.”
Sheikh Abdullah concluded: “In the coming years, we would like to see more people from Qatar in this event and we will have Marid, who won the Qatar Arabian Trophy Des Poulains over 2000m at Saint-Cloud two days ago.”
