Qatar International Stakes will run at Goodwood Festival, UK on 30 July

27 July 2016, UK ~ A high quality field is expected by the Arabian Racing Organisation (ARO) for the first stage of the Doha Triple Crown, the Qatar International Stakes (Gr1PA), to be run as part of the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Saturday 30 July.

The entries are headed by Al Mourtajez, the highest rated Arabian racehorse in the world and winner of the 2015 Qatar Arabian World Cup (Gr1PA). Last year’s winner Sir Bani Yas and runner-up, Prada T have also been declared, along with TM Thunder Struck, a very close second in the Kahayla Classic (Gr1PA), the opening race on Dubai World Cup night.

The Doha Triple Crown was initiated in 2015. The remaining two races in the Doha Triple Crown are the Qatar Arabian World Cup (Gr1PA), to be run at Chantilly in October, and the HH Emir’s Sword (Gr1PA) to be run in Doha in February 2017. This series links together three of the most prestigious international events and also carries a $1,000,000 bonus to any horse tjat can win all three stages.

The overall prize fund for the Qatar International Stakes is £400,000, and with £200,000 to the winner, the one mile contest has attracted 27 entries, twelve of which have declared. Notably, more than half the field are International runners, whilst nine are rated over 100.  Group 1PA winner, Lahoob, heads the British trained challenge. A winner at Pattern level on his seasonal reappearance for the last two years, he is bidding to do so again, having come up with this race in mind, according to his trainer Beverley Deutrom.

The Arabian Racing Organisation (ARO) Racing Manager Amanda Smith said. “The quality of the field has surpassed all expectations, with superb declarations from overseas alongside multiple-race winners from the UK.  The strength and depth certainly make this race worthy of its Group 1 status.  To see a horse of Al Mourtajez’s calibre at Goodwood is a testament to how far UK Arabian racing has come.  It is an honour for ARO to stage the first leg of such a high-profile initiative for international Arabian racing.  The addition of this race in the UK calendar is an exciting development for the sport, both domestically and worldwide.”

Full Race Card:

[gview file=”https://horsereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ARO-racecard-Goodwood-30-July.pdf” save=”1″]

 

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