The drama was there, all with lightning and thunder at the start of the race. Almost three minutes later, there were also cheers and ecstatic faces in the Umm Qarn camp as Alban de Mieulle-trained Yazeed capped his Qatar season with a thrilling victory in the USD250,000 Qatar Gold Sword (Group 1 PA) at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s Al Rayyan Park yesterday.
In the thoroughbred feature, Qatar Gold Trophy (QA Group 1), Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s The Blue Eye capped a treble for champion trainer Jassim Mohamed Ghazali, who further tightened his grip on yet another trainers’ championship.
Yazeed had missed out on Qatar’s flagship Arabian race in February, the million dollar HH The Amir Sword (Group 1 PA), by barely a length. But yesterday, the determined six-year-old and jockey Olivier Peslier were in no mood to let go in the 2000m, a distance which is right in the colt’s sweet spot.
At the post, under a slight drizzle, they had beaten His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani’s Gazwan by half-a-length for a memorable win. Julian Smart’s ward finished second under Theo Bachelot ahead of another Umm Qarn horse, Tayf.
“We know he is a nice horse, and he has beaten Gazwan and Ebraz before, but this time he was better on the distance,” De Mieulle told Gulf Times yesterday.
“We know this distance is good for him as compared to 2400m. Olivier was very confident going into this race. He thought he could do better if he waits a little more. We missed HH The Amir Sword, but the rest of the season was very good and there are still three more weeks to get more wins for (His Highness) Sheikh Abdullah (bin Khalifa al-Thani).”
In the penultimate race of the day, The Blue Eye was back in the winner’s circle after missing out in HH The Amir Trophy (QA Group 1) in February, much to the joy of the connections. Ridden by Harry Bentley, the seven-year-old beat Al Shaqab Racing’s Heshem by a length and a half in the 2200m USD250,000 Thoroughbred feature.
“The champion has come back. He did not come into the Amir Day in the best of conditions but he still finished fourth behind three European horses. But today he has given his best on the last big day of racing in Qatar. Three of my horses came into the ring. So a great day,” Ghazali said after the win. Al-Kuwari was understandably excited too. “The Blue Eye is the champion of Qatar. He had a bit of problems but I think it was a statement from him that there is still more to come from him,” he said.
The al-Kuwari-Ghazali combine also had Anima Rock and Luchador enter the winner’s circle earlier in the day.
Anima Rock stamped his authority as a sprinter racing to his fifth victory from seven outings. Theo Bachelot, who had helmed the colt in the Dukhan Sprint win in February, was in the saddle once again for the Sealine Sprint Trophy yesterday and the result was no different.
Luchador showed her versatility over distance, having finished second in top quality Al Biddah Mile field, before winning a six-furlong sprint two weeks ago. Yesterday, the three-year-old filly topped the Al Wajba Trophy under a confident ride by JP Guillambert.
Ronan Thomas was in top form in the saddle, riding four winners on the day, including Umm Qarn’s Aahil in the Qatar Silver Trophy for local Arabians. For the second consecutive time, the De Mieulle ward had managed to edge out Ghazali’s Molheb Al Naif, having beaten the Bentley-ridden seven-year-old in the Gulf Cup in February.
The day began with a hat-trick for Thomas. In the card-opener, Umm Qarn’s Gold Amer shed his maiden status on his third career outing.
Next up were two charges of Qatari trainer Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani – AJS Moaddie and Al Lusail – both owned by Al Jeryan Stud.
While AJS Moaddie built up on his form to go one better than his last outing to win the 1850m Qatar Silver Sword, Al Lusail raced to his second consecutive victory, both under Thomas, in the 1850m Local Thoroughbreds event.


RESULTS

Race 1: 1. Gold Amer (Ronan Thomas), 2. Fuwairat (Eduardo Pedroza), 3.Rodina (Harry Bentley), 4. Ibn Al Ameed (Olivier Peslier). Won by: ½, Nk, 1 ¾. Time: 1:30.67. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 2: 1. AJS Moaddie (Ronan Thomas), 2. Tabouk (Eduardo Pedroza), 3. Di Oco Py (Faleh Bughanaim), 4. Al Junood (Theo Bachelot). Won by: 1, 1, 1. Time: 2:04.71. Owner: Al Jeryan Stud. Trainer: Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani.
Race 3: 1. Al Lusail (Ronan Thomas), 2. Surra Man Raa (Eduardo Pedroza), 3. Sraab (Ryan Curatolo), 4. Moaddie (Theo Bachelot). Won by: 3 ½, Nk, 1 ½. Time: 1:52.78. Owner: Al Jeryan Stud. Trainer: Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani.
Race 4: 1. Anima Rock (Theo Bachelot), 2. Top Face (Faleh Bughanaim), 3. Itorio (Tomas Lukasek), 4. Darkanna (Jean Baptiste Hamel). Won by: No, Nk, 1 ½. Time: 1:09.57. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.

Race 5: 1. Luchador (JP Guillambert), 2. Arabic Channel (Maxime Guyon), 3. Ferro Grande (Tomas Lukasek), 4. Rex Place (Ronan Thomas). Won by: 1 ¼, 1 ½, 1 ½. Time: 1:55.54. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.
Race 6: 1. Aahil (Ronan Thomas), 2. Molheb Al Naif (Harry Bentley), 3. Sharesa (Theo Bachelot), 4. Rassan (Al Moatasem al-Balushi). Won by: Nk, 2 ¼, 4 ½. Time: 1:43.90. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 7: 1. The Blue Eye (Harry Bentley), 2. Heshem (Olivier Peslier), 3. Alignement (Theo Bachelot), 4. Galactic Prince (JP Guillambert). Won by: 1 ½, No, Shd. Time: 2:14.19. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.
Race 8: 1. Yazeed (Olivier Peslier), 2. Gazwan (Theo Bachelot), 3. Tayf (Ronan Thomas), 4. Ebraz (Maxime Guyon). Won by: ½, ½, 2 ¼. Time: 2:10.24. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.




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