Major battle for Qatar International Derby titles USD 1.3 million in prize money on offer as focus
Saturday on the turf at Al Rayyan
Mdmar -Doha – Mohammed Saad
Photo Juhaim
The Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club (QREC), chaired by Mr Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Attiyah, will stage the Qatar International Derby tomorrow, Saturday, on the turf track at Al Rayyan Racecourse, with a ten-race card expected to deliver highly competitive and exciting racing. The meeting comes as the current domestic season approaches its most fiercely contested phase, with major titles coming into sharp focus.
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The Qatar International Derby will be run less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the Qatar Oaks meeting, which featured nine races over varying distances and classes.
Prize money for the Qatar International Derby is the highest offered so far this season. While there are further meetings ahead with even larger purses, this marks the 26th Race Meeting of the season, and no previous fixture has matched the Derby’s total prize fund of USD 1.3 million. Of this amount, USD 500,000 is allocated to the tenth and feature race. The largest field of the meeting is expected in the opening race, which has attracted 16 runners.
Victory earns a place in the Shalfa
Attention will centre on Race 10 contested for a USD 500,000 purse. The race is the Qatar Derby for three-year-old Thoroughbreds (QA Gr1) an international contest over 2000m. Victory in this race earns qualification for the Shalfa, to be staged during the HH The Amir’s Sword Festival next February.
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In addition to the feature race, nine other contests will be run, including Race 9, the Qatar International Derby for four-year-old Purebred Arabians (Gr 2, PA) an international race over 2000m with prize money of USD 200,000.
As for the remainder of the programme, Race 1 will be the Al Rayyan Thoroughbred Handicap Cup for two-year olds rated 0-85, over 1400m, with prize money of USD 50,000. Race 2 is a Local Thoroughbred Graduation, over 1600m, for USD 20,000. Race 3 will be the Derby Day Thoroughbred Handicap Cup for four-year olds and older rated 75–95 over 2000m, with prize money of USD 30,000, with the winner also qualifying for the Shalfa at the HH The Amir’s Sword Festival next February.
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Race 4 will be the Local Thoroughbred Derby for three-year-olds, a Class 1 over 1850m, for USD 75,000. Race 5 is the Local Purebred Arabian Derby for three-year-olds, a Class 1, over 1600m, also worth USD 75,000. Race 6 is the Qatar Purebred Arabian Derby for three-year-olds, an international Gr3 PA contest over 1600m, with prize money of USD 100,000.
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Race 7 will be the Qatar National Derby for four-Year-old Local Purebred Arabians, a Class 1 over 2000m, with prize money of USD 100,000. Race 8 is the Al Rayyan Stakes for two-year-old Thoroughbreds, an international Class 1 race over 1600m, offering USD 150,000.
Closely matched fields
The Qatar International Derby is staged each season on QREC’s Al Rayyan turf track and predicting the outcomes of the ten races is particularly challenging due to the closely matched nature of most of the fields. This is further enhanced by the high level of preparation from trainers and jockeys, with several leading trainers set to feature prominently, including overseas conditioners who have travelled to oversee the preparation of their runners according to their individual training plans.
*“mdmar” website for horse racing and equestrian News
The “Mdmar” website which was Founded by Khaled Makhlouf in 2007 for horse and equestrian races is keen to cover and follow all competitions related to horses, from show jumping, Horseracing, speed and endurance races, and purebred Arabian horse beauty shows, which belong to the Arab Gulf countries at home and abroad in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
