The Gr 1 Qatar Derby for 4YO Purebred Arabians sponsored by the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) for the seventh year in a row was run at Chantilly on Sunday. Vice Chairman of QREC and Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation Hamad bin Abdulrahman al-Attiya presented the trophies to the winners. The 2000m contest is the mid-season highlight of the French Purebred Arabian racing programme and it features the top four-year-old Purebred Arabians of their generation.
Last year’s edition was won by one of the greatest four-year-olds in the world, of HE Sheikha Reem bint Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani-owned Hoggar De L’ardus, who went on to re-prove his top class at the highest level when he landed the Qatar Arabian World Cup less than four months later. Samlla (Assy x Djakera des Forges) (FR) was the new star crowned with the 2022 renewal of the Gr 1 Qatar Derby for 4YO Purebred Arabians and he landed the prestigious classic title again in the colours of HE Sheikha Reem bint Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Thani, keeping the title for Her Excellency for the second year in a row. In doing so, Samlla also added his third Gr.1 victory to his account.


The chestnut colt was one of the leading three-year olds of his generation last season and has now won five of his six career starts. Trained by François Rohaut and confidently ridden behind the pace by Maxime Guyon, Samilla was able to slipstream his stablemate Yunus (Assy) through the opening stages of the 2000m contest. Once in the straight, Samlla slipped through to lead against the rail and despite being heavily pressed by Izadi Star (Azadi) inside the closing stages, he held on tenaciously to score by a head at the line.
The Helal Alalawi-owned and Elizabeth Bernard-trained Izadi Star finished second under Cristian Demuro 10th length clear of the third placed, the Sinan Khalaf Sinan al-Harti-owned and X.
Thomas Demeaulte-trained Izmir De Carrere (Nieshan), who was ridden by Ioritz Mendizabal.
“Everything went well thankfully”, said the winning trainer Francois Rohaut after the race.
“We had an excellent tow into the race. He was pushed all the way to the line by another good horse and that distance really is his maximum. He battled hard and really showed guts to win. The Arab horse world is really developing and there are some proper horses now. They are much stronger and willing, and that shows across the results over the last 15 years.
“We have had some great battles in these races and even the big-name jockeys love riding in these races now,” he said.