The Prix Baroud II, a conditions race for Purebred Arabians aged four and over, saw a 1-2 for the colours of Al Shaqab Racing when Joud Al Cham led home Mounjared Al Cham in Toulouse, France on Saturday.
The two five-year-olds, who are both bred by Hassan and Nada Mousli (Mounjared Al Cham in association with Faiz Al Elweet), are owned by Al Shaqab Racing and Nada Mousli, and are also trained by Thomas Fourcy.
Joud Al Cham, ridden by Julien Auge, was drawn on the inside in this seven-runner 2,100m race, and went straight to lead. Setting a steady pace, he ran relaxed and unchallenged for the frontrunner position, whilst Mounjared Al Cham sat towards the rear. In the final turn, Auge remained motionless as his rivals began their pursuit.
In the straight, he held off his challengers, and looked to be the comfortable winner until Mounjared Al Cham came with a strong late run in the final 200m. He flew to line, and the post only just came in time for Joud Al Cham to hold the win by the smallest of noses.
Soko finished third, two-and-a-half lengths back from the leading pair.
Joud Al Cham was making just his fourth racecourse appearance here, and notched his third win. He won on debut in the November of his three-year-old year, before winning on his seasonal bow at four the following May. He then lined up in the Group 1 PA Qatar Derby des Pur-Sang Arabes de 4 ans at Chantilly that July but was clearly not in form that day, finishing down the field. That was his last racecourse appearance until yesterday’s win, over nine months later.
“Both these horses have shown a lot of quality, and they both needed this run,” said Fourcy after the win. “Joud Al Cham has a huge stride and travelled with his ears pricked – I don’t think he’s had a hard race! We will give them both some time. They are nice horses for the second half of the season. The aim is to let them mature into nice older horses. I don’t have a race lined up for them right now.”