THE LATE SHEIKH JASSIM BIN MOHAMMED AL THANI CUP & TROPHY - QATAR NATIONAL DAY CUP & TROPHY (GR2 PA)
16 December 2017, Doha, Qatar ~ After having settled for a runner-up finish twice this season, Umm Qarn’s TM Thunder Struck (Majd al Arab x Bonnett) snatched a victory in the 2000m turf feature on Saturday. The Alban E de Mieulle ward had won this race in 2015 while he was fourth in the last year’s edition.
However, on Saturday, 16 December 2017, Jean Baptiste Hamel put the 7yo’s turn of foot to good use moving from back of the pack to challenge H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s Reda (Burning Sand x Ba’scherit) up front on the home stretch. In the last 100m, TM Thunder Struck had a slight advantage in the duel and held on as Theo Bachelot’s Reda finished second. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s Mahess Du Soleil (Dahess x Dormah De Brugere) was third under Carlo Fiocchi.
LOCAL PUREBRED ARABIAN CONDITIONS
H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani’s She’ris (Mared Al Sahra x Kerbelle Du Loup) had been on an upward swing this season, which he continued with when Theo Bachelot did well to guide the 5yo to a thrilling victory on Saturday. Early on in the seven-furlong run, Julian Colin Smart’s charge stayed midfield on the rails. Half a furlong out, as the Jassim Mohammed Ghazali Jahromi-schooled Rassan (Amer x Sandytiki) held a slight advantage under Harry Bentley, Bachelot got his mount moving just at the right time and the 5yo surged forward on the inside to win by a head. Al Jeryan Stud’s AJS Intifadah (AF Albahar x Karreema) was third under Faleh Bughanaim.
PUREBRED ARABIAN HANDICAP (95 and Below)
Trainer Hossin Mohammad Ashour celebrated his second straight win on the day when Nasser Abdulla Al Attiyah’s AL Mirzem (Af Albahar x Zeralda Josniere) won handsomely in the miler. Al Shahania Stud’s Zahwah (Amer x Djamour Des Forges) had set the pace early on under Theo Bachelot with the Marvin Suerland-helmed Al Mirzem not too far behind. Coming on the home stretch, Al Mirzem picked up the pace and created a healthy gap, which proved too much for his rivals to overcome. The 6yo won by a little under four lengths with the Mohamed Rashid Saif Al Kuwari-trained and Saleem Golam-ridden Yatzakhan (Mared Al Sahra x Cantal Du Brieu) edging out Julian Colin Smart’s ward, Zahwah, for the second spot.
PUREBRED ARABIAN MAIDEN PLATE (4 YEAR OLDS)
Al Shaqab Racing’s AL Mouzhaher (General x Al Zahrah) made a winning Qatar debut winning the mile long opener on Saturday. Ridden by talented Qatari jockey Faleh Bughanaim for trainer Hossin Mohammad Ashour, the 4yo, recruited from France, finished a length ahead of the Alban de Mieulle-trained Diese (General x Divana) to shed his maiden status. Diese, ridden by Jean Baptiste Hamel in the colours of Olivier Materne, finished ahead of the Theo Bachelot-ridden Deebaj (Amer x Obe De Ghazal), having raced to his best finish yet in Qatar, for Julian Colin Smart.
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