Alban de Mieulle strengthened his grip on the trainer’s championship after the veteran trainer celebrated five winners on Thursday, including the Qatar Gold Sword (Group 1 PA) winner Tayf, even as the Deborah Mountain-saddled Seeyoubyme won his first Group 1 when he topped the Qatar Gold Trophy for Thoroughbreds at Al Rayyan Park on Thursday.
Qatari jockey Faleh Bughanaim’s 12th winner this season, Seeyoubyme, comfortably built a gap on the competition to win the 2,200m USD250,000 Thoroughbred feature by almost three lengths, even as JP Guillambert guided Jassim Ghazali-schooled Pedro Cara to second place finish.
The USD250,000 Arabian feature, however, was the perfect finale to an action packed evening as old rivals converged on the turf track at Al Rayyan Park once again. The current His Highness The Amir Sword champion Mon’nia and the Doha Triple Crown winner Ebraz, both charges of Julian Smart, were in the company of a huge De Mieulle contingent in the mile-and-a-quarter (2,000m) affair.
A little more than two minutes later, Ronan Thomas and Umm Qarn’s Tayf held an advantage on Tomas Lukasek-ridden Mon’nia and Alberto Sanna-helmed Ebraz on the home straight, and while the duo closed the gap it wasn’t enough as the Qatar Arabian World Cup champion won by a length.
For Thomas, the win was his fourth of the day, having opened the card with two winners for the colours and De Mieulle, before guiding a sprint winner for Osama Omer al-Dafea.
In the opener, it was the chestnut filly Al Arabie that showed her comfort with shorter distances compared to her last two 2,000m-plus starts when Thomas guided the four-year-old to more than three lengths victory in a seven-furlong Purebred Arabian maiden.
Half an hour later, the in-form Equinoxe improved his strike rate, registering his fourth win from eight races when he landed the 1,850m Local Thoroughbreds affair.
Thomas completed a hat-trick in the very next race when al-Dafea’s Taxiwala put up a spectacular run on the home straight to top the Sealine Sprint Trophy, adding to the Group 3 Dukhan Sprint and Al Shaqab Racing Trophy in February.
The two other winners for De Mieulle were Umm Qarn’s Sealine, who led a sweep of the top two spots in the Qatar Silver Trophy for four-year-old and older local Arabians, and Mohamed bin Hamad Khalifa al-Attiyah’s Sir Monlau in the Qatar Silver Sword.
Carlos Henrique was astride Sealine in the mile-long Qatar Silver Trophy and they edged out Thomas and his partner Aahil by a mere neck to win a fantastic duel.
Sir Monlau was under Soufiane Saadi in the 1,850m run for four-year-old Arabians when he beat Bughanaim-ridden Tarek Du Soleil by a little more than a length for his first victory in Qatar.
Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari’s Pom Malpic landed the Al Wajba Trophy leading a one-two for the colours in the process in the 1,850m run for three-year-old Thoroughbreds owned by local Individual Qataris.
Tomas Lukasek rode the Ali Yousuf al-Kubaisi trained filly to a fantastic half-a-length win ahead of Mohamed Ghazali-schooled Devious Company.

RESULTS
Race 1: PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE (1,400m)
1. Al Arabie (Ronan Thomas), 2. Rammah (Soufiane Saadi), 3. Tamih (Rashid Ali al-Marri), 4. Guyloud De Carrere (Meteb Ali al-Marri). Won by: 3 ¼, 2 ½, 2. Time: 1:29.62. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 2: LOCAL THOROUGHBREDS (1,850m)
1. Equinoxe (Ronan Thomas), 2. Al Lusail (Alberto Sanna), 3. Black Pearl (Soufiane Saadi), 4. Shaman Bu Thaila (Anas al-Seyabi). Won by: 2 ½, 2 ¾, 2 ¼. Time: 1:52.04. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 3: SEALINE SPRINT TROPHY (T/B three-year-old & older) (1,200m)
1. Taxiwala (Ronan Thomas), 2. Gangland (Carlos Henrique), 3. Zyzzyva (Anas al-Seyabi), 4. Izzthatright (Marco Casamento). Won by: 5 ½, ½, 2. Time: 1:08.46. Owner: Osama Omer al-Dafea. Trainer: Osama Omer al-Dafea.
Race 4: AL WAJBA TROPHY (Three-year-old T/B owned by local individual Qataris) (1,850m)
1. Pom Malpic (Tomas Lukasek), 2. Devious Company (Soufiane Saadi), 3. Saqr (Marco Casamento), 4. US Cliff (Adrie de Vries). Won by: ½, Nk, No. Time: 1:52.79. Owner: Khalifa bin Sheail al-Kuwari. Trainer: Ali Yousuf al-Kubaisi.
Race 5: QATAR SILVER TROPHY (Local PA four-year-old & older) (1,600m)
1. Sealine (Carlos Henrique), 2. Aahil (Ronan Thomas), 3. Lekhraib (Marco Casamento), 4. Ghannam (Alberto Sanna). Won by: Nk, 4 ¾, ½. Time: 1:42.24. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 6: QATAR SILVER SWORD (Four-year-old PA) (1,850m)
1. Sir Monlau (Soufiane Saadi), 2. Tarek Du Soleil (Faleh Bughanaim), 3. Djafar (JP Guillambert), 4. First Classs (Alberto Sanna). Won by: 1 ¼, 1 ¾, No. Time: 2:00.67. Owner: Mohamed bin Hamad Khalifa al-Attiyah. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
Race 7: QATAR GOLD TROPHY (QA Gr1) (Far Bend) (Four-year-old & older T/B) (2,200m)
1. Seeyoubyme (Faleh Bughanaim), 2. Pedro Cara (JP Guillambert), 3. Pazeer (Alberto Sanna), 4. Aspetar (Tomas Lukasek). Won by: 2 ¾, ¼, ½. Time: 2:15.57. Owner: Hassan Ali al-Abdulmalik. Trainer: Deborah Mountain.
Race 8: QATAR GOLD SWORD (Gr1 PA) (Far Bend) (Four-year-old & older PA) (2,000m)
1. Tayf (Ronan Thomas), 2. Mon’nia (Tomas Lukasek), 3. Ebraz (Alberto Sanna), 4. Al Naama (Soufiane Saadi). Won by: 1, Nk, 4 ¾. Time: 2:08.57. Owner: Umm Qarn. Trainer: Alban de Mieulle.
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