Al Shaqab Racing’s GHADAH lands Gr1 PA Qatar Cup In Qatar-sponsored Qatar Arc Trials

**PLACE DU CARROUSEL wins Gr2 Qatar Prix Foy for Al Shaqab Racing

*H.E. Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, Ambassador of Qatar, crowned the winners at ParisLongchamp

Mdmar – France

The Qatar-sponsored Qatar Arc Trials Day took place at ParisLongchamp on Sunday, 10 September. His Excellency Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, Ambassador of Qatar to France, was present at ParisLongchamp and presented the trophies to the winners of the Qatar Cup – Prix Dragon (Gr 1 PA) landed by Al Shaqab Racing’s Ghadah and the Gr1 Qatar Prix Vermeille won by Coolmore’s Warm Heart. Both races are the final rehearsals for the Qatar Arabian World Cup (Gr1 PA) and the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr1) to be run at the same course in three weeks. . His Excellency Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani, Ambassador of Qatar to France, also crowned the winners of the Gr2 Qatar Prix Foy, which was taken by the Al Shaqab Racing & Ballylinch Stud-owned Place Du Carrousel and the Gr2 Qatar Prix Niel, which was won by the Liberty Racing 2021-owned Fantastic Moon.

The day had included 10 races, with 6 of them were group contests, and all of them were marked by the name of Qatar.

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GHADAH back to winning ways in Qatar Cup

The Gr.1 (PA) Qatar Cup – Prix Dragon saw the Al Shaqab owned homebred Ghadah (Azadi) get back to winning ways following her excellent second in the Gr.1 UAE Presidents Cup at Doncaster last month.

The purebred Arabian is trained by Thomas Fourcy and was sent off the short-priced favourite for the 2,000m contest. A four-year-old, Ghadah was the youngest of the six runners to line up and contested her first domestic Gr.1 on only her fifth career start. Supplemented by connections, the filly is now a Gr.1 (PA) winner, adding to her Gr.2 (PA) success at Toulouse in April.

With Mickael Barzalona in the saddle, Ghadah was held up fifth of the six runners through the early stages of the contest, which was dictated by the eventual runner-up Sahab (AF Albahar), owned by Mohammed Bin Fahad Al Attiyah and trained by Mrs Jean Francois Bernard and was ridden on the occasion by Maxime Guyon. Although still with five lengths to find on the leader on the turn for home, Ghadah travelled best of all under a motionless Barzalona and was switched wide to challenge. Once rolling, Ghadah closed with an impressive turn of foot and went clear inside the final 100m to score by just over a length. The YAS Horse Racing Management owned and Xavier Thomas-Demeaulte trained Elaf ELAF (Rabbah de Carrere( finished third under jockey Anthony Crastus.

Speaking after the race, the winning jockey said: “She accelerated really well when I asked for an effort and was tough. I pulled her out wide because I’ve seen in other races that she can hang, so I wanted to keep everything smooth. The was a lovely covering of grass out there and we got into a nice action. She’s very talented.”

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Ghadah is out of the Gr.3 (PA) placed Majida (Majd Al Arab) and is a sister to the Gr.1 (PA) performer Al Wakrah (TM Fred Texas).

PLACE DU CARROUSEL steps up in trip with aplomb

Winner of last season’s Gr.1 Prix de l’Opera, the superb four-year-old Place Du Carrousel (Lope De Vega) returned to the scene of her biggest triumph to land an ‘Arc Trial’, the Gr.2 Qatar Prix Foy, where she encountered the 2400m for the first time.

Trained by Andre Fabre and with her regular partner Mickael Barzalona in the saddle, Place Du Carrosel made it a double on the card for her joint-owner Al Shaqab Racing, who share the filly with her part-breeder Ballylinch Stud.

A select field of five went to post for the Gr.2 contest, with the only other female in the line-up Pleasant Jane (Pivotal) making the running at a pedestrian pace. Settled out wide, Place Du Carrousel travelled well and stole first run on the field early in the straight. Tough, Place Du Carrousel held off the late challenge of Iresine (Manduro) to score the Qatar Prix Foy by a neck. Sammarco (Camelot) took third.

Winning jockey Mickael Barzalona said after the race: “She is all class and although we didn’t go very fast there, she seemed to handle the distance. We free-wheeled into the race and she enjoyed the quick conditions.”

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Place Du Carrousel holds an entry in the Gr.1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc du Triomph in three weeks’ time.

WARM HEART lands Qatar Prix Vermeille in style

A proven stayer despite her relatively short career, the well-bred daughter of the Galileo, Warm Heart landed her second consecutive victory at the highest level by winning the Qatar Peix Vermeille at ParisLongchamp.

Trained by Aiden O’Brien, who was taking a first victory in the Gr.1 Qatar Prix Vermeille, Warm Heart came into the race off the back of a win in the Gr.1 Yorkshire Oaks last month and was warmly fancied by punters, despite the presence of Blue Rose Cen (Churchill), who was attempting 2400m for the first time.

Partnered by James Doyle who was also on board in the Yorkshire Oaks, the Coolmore Stud bred Warm Heart was situated towards the first half of the peloton through the opening stages of the race which was taken along by the free-striding Pensee Du Jour (Camelot). Angled out in the straight and briefly boxed in by Blue Rose Cen, Warm Heart got the split between the leaders and toughed it out to score by a short head from the giant Melo Melo (Gleneagles), who was having her first crack at Gr.1 level. Sea Silk Road (Sea The Stars) took the third place, while Blue Rose Cen faded towards the finish to take fifth place.

Entered in both the Qatar Prix Royallieu and also the Prix de l’Opera Longines in three weeks’ time, the Smith, Tabor, Magnier & Westerberg owned filly will need to be supplemented into the Gr.1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe if connections wish to take their chance.

Warm Heart is a daughter of the globetrotting, triple Gr.1 winner Sea Siren (Fastnet Rock).

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FANTASTIC MOON wins Gr2 Qatar Prix Niel

Fantastic Moon (Sea The Moon), the top German 3-y-old, as evidenced by his victory in the Deutsches Derby, left his rivals for dead in the final stages of the Fantastic Moon. He beat French-trained favourite Feed the Flame by two and a half lengths, whereas Bravais, another French-trained colt, was third.

Baumgarten, the Liberty Racing 2022 representative, the owner of Fantastic Moon, said : « We made the right decision not to run him last time at Baden-Baden because the ground was over watered. He needs good ground, as he shows in the morning. He’s a great horse. Both the trainer and the jockey have done a great job.” Fantastic Moon is trained by Sarah Stienberg and was ridden to victory by Rene Piechulek.

FANG from pillar to post in the Qatar Prix du Pin

The Jean-Claude Rouget’s trained Fang  (Goken) absolutely loves the ParisLongchamp 1,400m meters track, nicknamed the “slide”. This was his fourth race on it, for three successes. Fang had actually won the Qatar Prix du Pin last year and defended and kept his crown this year.

Fang won from pillar to post. The 5yo gelding is entered in the Qatar Prix de la Forêt (Gr1), on the same course on Sunday, October the 1st, and he should be seen again in the Gr1. His connections will hope for good ground. It was a very emotional success and many of his owners were at ParisLongchamp on Sunday to see him win.

Fang is by Goken and was bred in France at the Haras de Saint-Vincent. His trainer Jean-Claude Rouget bought him as a yearling at Arqana for €50,000, who also trained his mother, Belle de France, winner of her first two races over 1,600 and 1,500m.

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COEUR DE PIERRE toughs it out to score

Contested at a ferocious pace up the centre of the course at ParisLongchamp, with the clock stopping at 54.83 seconds, the Gr.3 Qatar Prix Du Petit Couvert saw seven seasoned sprinters clash with last year’s runner-up Coeur De Pierre (Zanzibari) landing the spoils in a head-bobbing finish.

Taking the opening race on Qatar Trials day at ParisLongchamp, Coeur De Pierre was trained by Mauricio Delcher Sanchez and was given a power-packed ride by jockey Tony Piccone. Carrying the colours of Ecurie Pandora Racing and Ahmed Mouknass, the seven-year-old was runner-up in the same contest in 2022 and fourth in 2020.

Quickly out of the stalls and rolling early, Coeur De Pierre was always on the speed in the seven-runner contest and passed the post with a head to spare following a prolonged battle with the Czech-trained Ponntos (Power). The duo finished three lengths clear of the former Gr.1 winner Asymmetric (Showcasing), who was slow from the gates.

Speaking after the race, the winning jockey Tony Piccone said: “He is a very, very good horse and super tough … He is just weather dependant too! We got into a great rhythm and he gave me everything at the finish. This is great for the team at home.”

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The “Mdmar” website 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.