Zakhir Racing’s Daneyan was expected to make his presence felt when he lined up for the Al Huwaila Cup, especially after having landed a course-and-distance victory earlier this month. Zuhair Mohsen’s ward did exactly that when he landed the 1900m run at Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s Al Rayyan Park yesterday.
The Thoroughbreds Conditions feature had Ronan Thomas astride the five-year-old and a charge on the home straight saw the duo edge out Francois Herholdt-ridden Topsy Turvy by a quarter-of-a-length, while Marco Casamento-helmed Zamharer was third a neck behind in a blanket finish.
The colours of Injaaz Stud entered the winner’s enclosure for two straight races when the father and son training duo Jassim Mohamed Ghazali and Mohamed Jassim Ghazali saddled winners yesterday.
First up was Ghazali senior’s ward Roman Melody who had a course and distance victory on his Qatar debut two weeks ago. Yesterday, in the 1900m Thoroughbred Handicap run, the gelding, helmed by Casamento, edged out Rashid Ali al-Marri ridden Suprematism by half-a-length.
Casamento guided younger Ghazali’s ward to a victory too. In the Local Purebred Arabians, there was little stopping Lekhraib once it took the advantage and eventually crossed the past two-and-a-half lengths in front of Jassim’s charge, Hazm Al Sulaimi.
Earlier in the day, Sheail bin Khalifa al-Kuwari’s Huwaiteb, ridden by Jason Watson, shed his maiden status in thrilling fashion edging out Saleh Salem al-Marri ridden Wakeel by half-a-length at the post.
Al-Marri, however, an hour later would return to the track and ride a winner for the ninth time this season. Having ridden eight winners last season, within just a month of the new term, the apprentice rider has gone past what was his best season haul so far.
Al-Marri, in the colours of Nasser Saeed al-Eida, guided Jassim Mohamed Ghazali-trained Gold Fleece to a two-length victory in the Thoroughbred Handicap event.
Another Qatari apprentice rider to better his win haul was Ali Khalid al-Mosallam, who opened the card yesterday with a win astride Abdulaziz Hamad al-Marri’s Lama.
Lama was well held three weeks ago in the Oaks Trial but returned to shed her maiden status in the 1100m Local Purebred Arabian Novice sprint.
Al-Mosallam’s best season in Qatar was 2018-19 when the rider guided five winners. The win astride Lama in the card-opener yesterday was his sixth.
Al-Mosallam further added to his tally when he helmed Mansoor Mesfer al-Hajri’s Haddaj Dukhan to the eight-year-old’s first win in almost two years. It was the horse’s 51st career outing. The 1900m Purebred Arabian Handicap saw al-Mosallam guide Haddaj Dukhan to a close half-a-length victory.
The result also saw Qatari riders sweeping the top four spots with Faleh Bughanaim guiding Bsheer to second place, Rashid Ali al-Marri on third-placed Taysh and Meteb Ali al-Marri astride fourth-placed Winne Taouy.
In the Local Thoroughbred Novice Plate, the lightly-raced mare Mizoun from Al Sakab Stud entered the winner’s enclosure for the second straight time having won on her last outing in January. Ibrahim al-Malki-trained five-year-old won by a little less than two lengths under Tomas Lukasek.


RESULTS
Race 1: LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIAN NOVICE PLATE (Distance: 1100m)
1. Lama (Ali Khalid al-Mosallam), 2. Ahzaab (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 3. Al Addaaj (Tomas Lukasek), 4. Wardan Al Hashm (Luca Maniezzi). Won by: 1 ¾, 4, No. Owner: Abdulaziz Hamad al-Marri. Trainer: Abdulaziz Hamad al-Marri.
Race 2: THOROUGHBRED MAIDEN PLATE (Class 6) (Distance: 1900m)
1. Huwaiteb (Jason Watson), 2. Wakeel (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 3. Detox (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 4. Cotai Again (Marco Casamento). Won by: ½, 10, 2. Owner: Sheail bin Khalifa al-Kuwari. Trainer: Mohamed Riyaz.
Race 3: LOCAL THOROUGHBRED NOVICE PLATE (Distance: 1100m)
1. Mizoun (Tomas Lukasek), 2. Dalal Al Brooq (Meteb Ali al-Marri), 3. Rosasa (Alberto Sanna), 4. Al Hindi (Saleh Salem al-Marri). Won by: 1 ¾, 5 ½, 2 ½. Owner: Al Sakab Stud. Trainer: Ibrahim al-Malki.
Race 4: THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 5) (70 and below) (Distance: 1900m)
1. Gold Fleece (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 2. Harry Hotspur (Alexander Reznikov), 3. Better Than Ever (Alberto Sanna), 4. Tafaahum (Ronan Thomas). Won by: 2, 10, 5. Owner: Nasser Saeed al-Eida. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.
Race 5: PUREBRED ARABIAN HANDICAP (90 and below) (Distance: 1900m)
1. Haddaj Dukhan (Ali Khalid al-Mosallam), 2. Bsheer (Faleh Bughanaim), 3. Taysh (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 4. Winne Taouy (Meteb Ali al-Marri). Won by: ½, 1, 3 ½. Owner: Mansoor Mesfer al-Hajri. Trainer: Mansoor Mesfer al-Hajri.
Race 6: THOROUGHBRED HANDICAP (Class 4) (80 and below) (Distance: 1900m)
1. Roman Melody (Marco Casamento), 2. Suprematism (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 3. Poets Dream (Carlos Henrique), 4. Star Of War (Ali Khalid al-Mosallam). Won by: ½, ¾, 6 ¼. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Jassim Mohamed Ghazali.
Race 7: LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIANS (Distance: 1100m)
1. Lekhraib (Marco Casamento), 2. Hazm Al Sulaimi (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 3. Kasser (Alberto Sanna), 4. Aahil (Ronan Thomas). Won by: 2 ½, 2, 3 ¾. Owner: Injaaz Stud. Trainer: Mohamed Jassim Ghazali.
Race 8: AL HUWAILA CUP (T/B Conditions) (Distance: 1900m)
1. Daneyan (Ronan Thomas), 2. Topsy Turvy (Francois Herholdt), 3. Zamharer (Marco Casamento), 4. Yaarmen (JP Guillambert). Won by: ¼, Nk, 1 ¼. Owner: Zakhir Racing. Trainer: Zuhair Mohsen.