The colours of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani’s Umm Qarn flew high at the eponymous race meeting as Aahil and Tayf landed the local Arabian and Arabian features respectively at Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club’s Al Rayyan Park yesterday.
Trainer Alban de Mieulle consolidated his top spot in the trainers’ championship with four wins yesterday, including the two feature winners, with Ronan Thomas riding all of the Frenchman’s winners.
In the QR500,000 mile-long His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy for local Arabians, Aahil never looked under any threat as Thomas guided him up front early on and then had a healthy gap over the competition right till the end, eventually winning by more than four lengths. Stablemate Sealine, ridden by Soufiane Saadi, managed to cover a lot of distance on the straight as he edged out Tomas Lukasek-ridden Ghali Al Athman by a short head for the runner-up spot.
In the penultimate race of the day, the QR300,000 run for four-year-old and older Arabians, the reigning Qatar Arabian World Cup champion Tayf beat the Doha Triple Crown winner Ebraz, owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani and trained by Julian Smart, in a top quality His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Cup (Group 2 PA).
The colours of Sheikh Mohamed and Smart had a winner in the filly Eaz Qatar that landed the His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Silver Cup for four-year-old Arabians. The Amer filly was victory, second in three career outings, by Alberto Sanna in the 2200m run.
Eaz Qatar tracked early leaders on the rails before Sanna upped the pace coming off the final bend. As the field widened, Sanna and his partner went neck to neck with Umm Qarn’s Antar and held a slight advantage, winning eventually by half-a-length.
Earlier, De Mieulle had two more winners – Umm Qarn’s Equinoxe in the French King Cup for local Thoroughbreds, and Patrice Alexandre Nicolet’s Top Max in the Umm Qarn Trophy for Thoroughbreds.
Equinoxe completed a hat-trick of victories when he won a scintillating duel with Al Jeryan Stud’s Al Lusail, ridden by Alberto Sanna, in the closing stages of the mile-long run for four-year-old and older horses.
Thomas and Top Max entered the winner’s circle half an hour later with the five-year-old registering his first win in Qatar. A five-time winner in France, Top Max beat the classy Pazeer by two-and-a-half lengths in the 2000m run, impressively following up his frame finish last time round.
Mohamed bin Ahmed al-Attiyah’s versatile eight-year-old Ateej, won for the first time since October 2019 with Marco Casamento guiding the AF AlBahar colt to his first Group level success yesterday. The AF AlBahar colt topped the Majd Al Arab P/A Sprinter Championship (Group 3 PA) with a little more than a length to spare, beating JP Guillambert-ridden Kasser for the win.
The win was second yesterday for trainer Jassim Ghazali. Earlier, Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah’s Rex Place landed his second career win within a year when Guillambert rode the five-year-old to a close win in the Very Nice Name Cup, a mile-long Thoroughbred Novice event.
Abdullah bin Ali bin Khalifa al-Attiyah’s Karbasann led a one-two for Qatari trainer Ibrahim al-Malki when the gelding landed the Yasmeen Cup, a Thoroughbred Handicap run. The four-year-old was helmed to victory on his Qatar debut by Soufiane Saadi, one-and-a-half lengths in front of Killian Leonard-ridden Al Haitham.
Hamad al-Jehani’s busy ward, Skip The Queue, who lined for the 11th time this season yesterday, entered the winner’s circle for the second time this term. Ridden by Carlos Henrique in the colours of Ibrahim Hassan al-Malki al-Jehani, the Acclamation colt won the Charm Spirit Cup, a Thoroughbred handicap over seven furlongs, in a thrilling finish. Skip The Queue edged out Saleh Salem al-Marri-ridden Al Mohalhal by a head for the victory.
RESULTS
Race 1: Very Nice Name Cup - Thoroughbred Novice Plate (Distance: 1,600m)
1. Rex Place (JP Guillambert), 2. Markhor (Tomas Lukasek), 3. Cloak And Dagger (Soufiane Saadi), 4. Harry Hotspur (Killian Leonard). Won by: ¾, 1, 1. Time: 1:36.61. Owner: Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 2: Charm Spirit Cup - Thoroughbred Handicap (70-90) (Distance: 1400m)
1. Skip The Queue (Carlos Henrique), 2. Al Mohalhal (Saleh Salem al-Marri), 3. Make A Wish (Marco Casamento), 4. Fuwayrit (Alberto Sanna). Won by: Hd, 1 ¾, No. Time: 1:23.73. Owner: Ibrahim Hassan al-Malki al-Jehani. Trainer: Hamad al-Jehani.
Race 3: Yasmeen Cup - Thoroughbred Handicap (70-90) (Distance: 1850m)
1. Karbasann (Soufiane Saadi), 2. Al Haitham (Killian Leonard), 3. El Patron (Ali Khalid al-Mosallam), 4. Saint Roch (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: 1 ½, 2 ¾, Nk. Time: 1:54.72. Owner: Abdullah bin Ali bin Khalifa al-Attiyah. Trainer: Ibrahim Saeed al-Malki.
Race 4: French King Cup - Local Thoroughbreds - 4 Year Olds & Older - (Distance: 1600m)
1. Equinoxe (Ronan Thomas), 2. Al Lusail (Alberto Sanna), 3. Shaman Bu Thaila (Tomas Lukasek), 4. Mosayter (Michael Forest). Won by: ½, 6 ¼, Nk. Time: 1:37.27. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 5: Umm Qarn Trophy - Thoroughbreds (Distance: 2000m)
1. Top Max (Ronan Thomas), 2. Pazeer (Soufiane Saadi), 3. Pedro Cara (Alberto Sanna), 4. Hayzum (Michael Forest). Won by: 2 ½, ¾, ½. Time: 2:03.42. Owner: Patrice Alexandre Nicolet. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 6: Majd Al Arab P/A Sprinter Championship (Group 3 PA) - 4 Year Olds & Older - (Distance: 1100m)
1. Ateej (Marco Casamento), 2. Kasser (JP Guillabmert), 3. R B Kindle (Alberto Sanna), 4. Barra (Ronan Thomas). Won by: 1 ¼, Nk, 4. Time: 1:08.52. Owner: Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Mohamed al-Attiyah. Trainer: Jassim Ghazali.
Race 7: His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Silver Cup - Purebred Arabians - 4 Year Olds - (Distance: 2200m)
1. Eaz Qatar (Alberto Sanna), 2. Antar (Ronan Thomas), 3. Dawi (Francois Herholdt), 4. Ragdan (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: ½, ¾, Nk. Time: 2:29.26. Owner: His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani. Trainer: Julian Smart.
Race 8: His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Cup (Group 2 PA) - Purebred Arabians - 4 Year Olds & Older - (Distance: 1600m)
1. Tayf (Ronan Thomas), 2. Ebraz (Tomas Lukasek), 3. Djalnor (JP Guillambert), 4. Shalaa (Carlos Henrique). Won by: 3 ¼, Nk, ½. Time: 1:44.21. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 9: His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy - Local Purebred Arabians - 4 Year Olds & Older - (Distance: 1600m)
1. Aahil (Ronan Thomas), 2. Sealine (Soufiane Saadi), 3. Ghali Al Athman (Tomas Lukasek), 4. AJS Moaddie (Alberto Sanna). Won by: 4 ¼, Shd, Shd. Time: 1:44.64. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Qatar and Asian Equestrian Federations President, and Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club Vice-Chairman Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiyah (centre) with the winners of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy after Umm Qarn’s Aahil won the mile-long feature at Al Rayyan Park yesterday. PICTURES: Juhaim
