YAZEED, THE BLUE EYE shine on Qatar Gold Sword & Trophy Day
Umm Qarn’s YAZEED (Munjiz x Al Dahma) capped a fantastic day for his yard and trainer Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle with Olivier Peslier riding the 6yo to a well deserved QATAR GOLD SWORD (Gr1 PA) victory on the Al Rayyan Park turf on Thursday. The colt, who had missed out on HH The Amir Sword in February, despite starting his season with a victory in the Qatar National Day Trophy in December, put up a determined run on the home straight for the 2000m race, and managed to hold off Theo Bachelot helmed GAZWAN (Amer x Arc De Ciel), saddled by Julian Colin Smart, by half a length at the post. Another De Mieulle charge, TAYF (Amer x Djelmila), rounded off the top three and a good day in office for jockey Ronan Thomas.
The colours of Khalifa Bin Sheail Al Kuwari were back in the winner’s circle for the third time on Wednesday and this time too it was a Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi charge, THE BLUE EYE (Dubawi x Soneva). In the QATAR GOLD TROPHY (QA Gr 1) (4yo & older Thoroughbreds), with Harry Bentley in the saddle, the 7yo took the advantage on the home straight a furlong out and then held on for a fantastic win, his second this season, having missed out in the Festival Thoroughbred feature last time. The run on Thursday saw Al Shaqab Racing’s HESHEM (Footstepsinthesand x Doohula), trained by Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle, finishing runner-up under Olivier Peslier, having edged out another one of the champion trainer’s charge, ALIGNEMENT (Pivotal x Soldata), by a nose.
Umm Qarn’s AAHIL (Munjiz x Daniah) beat Molheb Al Naif to victory for the second straight outing with Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle trained colt taking yet another thrilling victory. Ronan Thomas, who was in the saddle for the 5yo on the last outing in February during the Festival, was back on the mount, and the two put up a thrilling run on the home straight for the mile long QATAR SILVER TROPHY (4yo & older Local PA). Aahil edged out Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi trained 7yo by a neck at the post for Thomas’ fourth win of the day.
Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi saddled his second straight winner of the day when Khalifa Bin Sheail Al Kuwari’s LUCHADOR (Holy Roman Emperor x Bride Unbridled) raced to her second consecutive victory of the season under JP Guillambert. In the process, the filly also showed versatility having come off a six furlong win two weeks ago, to top the 1850m AL WAJBA TROPHY (3yo THOROUGHBREDS (Class 2)). Guillambert and Luchador beat Maxime Guyon ridden Arabic Channel with a length and a quarter to spare at the post.
Khalifa Bin Sheail Al Kuwari’s ANIMA ROCK (Shamalgan x Carnet De Bal) improved his already impressive strike rate even further with his fifth victory of the season. The sprinter, trained by Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi, had Theo Bachelot for company, and the two raced to their third victory together this season when they edged out Hadi Nasser Rashid Al Ramzani saddled Top Face by a nose in the six furlong SEALINE SPRINT TROPHY (3yo & older THOROUGHBREDS).
Al Jeryan Stud’s AL LUSAIL (Footstepsinthesand x Gooey) had never finished outside the top three coming into Thursday’s LOCAL THOROUGHBREDS race. The record stayed intact as trainer Hadi Nasser Rashid Al Ramzani saddled his second straight winner on the day with Ronan Thomas as the rider. In the 1850m race, Thomas helmed the 5yo to a dominant three and a half length victory with Eduardo Pedroza guiding Surra Man Raa to the runne rup spot.
Second in HH The Amir Silver Sword in February, Al Jeryan Stud’s AJS MOADDIE (AF AlBahar x Gabie De Carrere) made some amends taking the QATAR SILVER SWORD (4yo PA) on Thursday. Ronan Thomas helmed the Silver Sword Trial topper for the first time, and the two combined well in the 1850m run, to take a fine one length victory. Hadi Nasser Rashid Al Ramzani trained consistent colt took his overall tally to three from nine races.
Umm Qarn’s GOLD AMER (Amer x Al Hanoof) went one better than his previous outing to shed his maiden status in a thrilling finish to the PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE (3-6yo). In the seven furlong run, with Ronan Thomas in the saddle for the first time for the 4yo, the Alban Elie Marie De Mieulle trained colt beat Ibrahim Saeed Ibrahim Al Malki trained Fuwairat by half a length for a fine win on his third outing.
