Ibrahim al-Malki-trained Pazeer was unsurprisingly a class act yet again as the six-year-old starred in a fantastic Barzan Cup (QA Group 3) victory at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s Al Rayyan Park yesterday.
In the mile-long turf feature for Thoroughbreds, Pazeer, helmed by Soufiane Saadi in the colours of Abdulatif Hussain al-Emadi, moved steadily forward on the outside after staying midfield on the back straight.
Coming off the bend, JP Guillambert had Alignement take the lead but Pazeer and Luca Maniezzi-ridden Dominus charged past the Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s gelding, turning it into a duel.
Pazeer, however, held on by a quarter-of-a-length as Stefano Ibido’s ward Dominus settled for second, and Alignement in third.
In the penultimate race of the day, Al Jeryan Stud’s Al Lusail wrested a thrilling win at the post with a late charge under Ronan Thomas in the Local Thoroughbreds event yesterday.
Ibrahim al-Malki’s Shaman Bu Thaila surged forward coming off the bend with Tomas Lukasek in the saddle. But just as the post came nearer, Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani-schooled Al Lusail kept closing in the gap before edging out Shaman Bu Thaila by a quarter-of-a-length.
Trainer Alban de Mieulle saddled three winners yesterday including the Oaks Trial for three-year-old local Thoroughbred fillies topper Al Khisah, local Arabians winner RS Rasheeda and maiden Quepos.
In the local Arabians Oaks Trial, RS Rasheeda’s determined run under Carlos Henrique, in Al Rabban Racing colours, saw her lead a top-three sweep for De Mieulle with Umm Qarn fillies Ashoura finishing second by a neck and Abida in third.
Ronan Thomas timed his go-ahead to Umm Qarn’s Al Khisah perfectly after staying midfield early on in the miler. The filly showed some impressive pace on the straight to pass the leaders and win by a little more than a length. Thomas was astride Quepos too when Patrice Nicolet’s filly won the opening run of the day.
The colours of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani visited the winner’s enclosure twice after Julian Smart-trained duo – Mon’nia and Eaz Qatar – topped their respective starts. While Mon’nia bagged her second straight victory under Tomas Lukasek in the Oaks Trial for Purebred Arabians, Alberto Sanna guided Eaz Qatar to a maiden win.
Jassim Mohamed Ghazali’s first winner of the day was a pleasant surprise for the connections with Forced beating the favourites in the Oaks Trial for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies in what was a huge step up in distance at 1850m. Marco Casamento, riding in the colours of Meshaal bin Ali al-Attiyah, guided the filly from the back of the field to the front as the grey Lethal Force filly won for the first time in 13 starts.
Mohamed Hussain-trained Soldierpoy made a fine debut in Qatar as the UK recruit won the Thoroughbreds race for two-year-olds comfortably. Ridden by JP Guillambert in the colours of Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari, the gelding beat another UK recruit, Majd Al Arab, by two lengths in the 1200m sprint.
Abdulaziz Jassim al-Buenain’s first winner of the season was Superior Moment. With Soufiane Saadi in the saddle in the Thoroughbred Handicap, the three-year-old colt built on his third place last week to bag the six-furlong sprint in fine fashion, winning by a length-and-a-half.

RESULTS
Race 1: PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE (3 Year Olds) (C & G) (Div 1) (Distance: 1600m)
1. Quepos (Ronan Thomas), 2. Hidalgo Du Croate (Alberto Sanna), 3. Casimir De Codines (Faleh Bughanaim), 4. Esam (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: ¾, 11, ½. Time: 1:46.30. Owner: Patrice Nicolet. Trainer: Alban de Miuelle.
Race 2: PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE (3 Year Olds) (F) (Div 2) (Distance: 1600m)
1. Eaz Qatar (Alberto Sanna), 2. Muqla (Ronan Thomas), 3. Yaqhar (Soufiane Saadi), 4. Gnai Ad (Eduardo Pedroza). Won by: Hd, 3, 4. Time: 1:46.63. Owner: His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.
Race 3: THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 5) (75 & below) (Distance: 1200m)
1. Superior Moment (Soufiane Saadi), 2. The Singer (Ronan Thomas), 3. Daira Bridge (Alberto Sanna), 4. Al Fayz (JP Guillambert). Won by: 1 ½, ¼, ½. Time: 1:11.00. Owner: Abdulaziz Jassim al-Buainain. Trainer: Abdulaziz Jassim al-Buainain.
Race 4: THOROUGHBRED PLATE (2 Year Olds) (Class 2)
1. Soldierpoy (JP Guillambert), 2. Majd Al Arab (Killian Leonard), 3. Golden Bear (Carlos Henrique), 4. Shine That Light (Marco Casamento). Won by: 2, Shd, 1 ¾. Time: 1:11.66. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Mohamed Hussain.
Race 5: UMM SALAL OAKS TRIAL (Local T/B 3yo) (Distance: 1600m)
1. Al Khisah (Ronan Thomas), 2. S K Shawaheen (Alberto Sanna), 3. Dreem of Doha (Faleh Bughanaim), 4. Al Kharu (Randall Simons). Won by: 1 ¼, 5 ½, 2. Time: 1:40.53. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 6: UMM SALAL OAKS TRIAL (T/B 3yo) (Distance: 1850m)
1. Forced (Marco Casamento), 2. She’s Our Queen (Michael Forest), 3. Glitter Queen (Ronan Thomas), 4. Ghali Althman (Alberto Sanna). Won by: ¼, 1 ½, 1 ¼. Time: 1:55.13. Owner: Meshaal bin Ali al-Attiyah. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.
Race 7: UMM SALAL OAKS TRIAL (Local P/A 4yo Fillies) (Distance: 1850m)
1. RS Rasheeda (Carlos Henrique), 2. Ashoura (Soufiane Saadi), 3. Abida (Ronan Thomas), 4. Monati (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: Nk, 1 ½, 4. Time: 2:04.88. Owner: Al Rabban Racing. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 8: UMM SALAL OAKS TRIAL (P/A 4yo Fillies) (Distance: 1850m)
1. Mon’nia (Tomas Lukasek), 2. Arguya (JP Guillambert), 3. Alghaf (Soufiane Saadi), 4. Hakida (Ronan Thomas). Won by: 2 ¾, 3 ½, 1 ½. Time: 1:59.67. Owner: His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.
Race 9: LOCAL THOROUGHBREDS
1. Al Lusail (Ronan Thomas), 2. Shaman Bu Thaila (Tomas Lukasek), 3. Abu Samrah (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 4. Salman Bu Thaila (Luca Maniezzi). Won by: ¼, 7 ¾, ¼. Time: 2:04.37. Owner: Al Jeryan Stud. Trainer: Hadi Nasser al-Ramzani.
Race 10: BARZAN CUP (QA Gr 3) (Thoroughbreds) (Distance: 1600m)
1. Pazeer (Soufiane Saadi), 2. Dominus (Luca Maniezzi), 3. Alignement (JP Guillambert), 4. Al Shaman (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: ¼, 1 ½, 2. Time: 1:35.24. Owner: Abdulatif Hussain al-Emadi. Trainer: Ibrahim al-Malki.