Injaaz Stud-owned Fakhir was ridden to victory in a close finish by jockey Marco Casamento in the feature race for Al Arish Cup at Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club’s (QREC) 14th Al Uqda Meeting yesterday.
The 2,100m eight-horse Purebred Arabian Conditions race on turf was closely fought with three horses in the end gal-loping to get to the winning post first but it was Mohammed Ghazali-trained Fakhir who emered victorious by a short head to wrap the race day.
QREC Racing Manager Abdulla Rashid Al Kubaisi crowned the winners of the Al Arish Cup.Earlier, the six-race card saw trainer Ahmed Kobeissi and jockey Pranil Arvind completed doubles as they teamed up to win the 2,100m Handicap (0-95) for Purebred Arabians with Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Attiya’s Khattab De Faust, who also completed a double.
Trainer Zuhair Mohsen too completed a double on the day as he saddled the Khalid Abdulaziz Al Kuwari-owned Inde to win the 1,400m Handicap (0-80) for Thoroughbreds.
Under jockey Lukas Delozier, the six-year-old gelding prevailed by one-and-a-half lenght.The Abdullah Mohammed Al Kuwari & Sons-owned Hi Meh Darling, trained by Jassim Ghazali and ridden by David Allan, completed a double in the 1200m Handicap (0-70) for Thoroughbreds. The three-year-old filly went two lenghts clear at the line.
There was a close finish in the 1,400m Maiden for Local Thoroughbreds as the Al Ghariya (22) Racing-owned and Zuhair Mohsen-trained Tafaahum battled on bravely under Soufiane Saadi to hold off charging rivals by a neck.
The Al Arish Cup Day began with the 1,400 Handicap (0-65) for Local Purebred Arabians and Nayef Batal Al Otibi’s Anger shed his maiden tag by stretching clear to win by two-and-a-half lengths for trainer Ahmed Kobeissi and jockey Pranil Arvin
